Rythu Bandhu set for a colourful start

Farmers in Nalgonda to be given colour slips based on clarity of land data

Rythu Bandhu, the State government’s agriculture investment support scheme of extending ₹ 4000 benefit per acre per farmer each season is all set for a ‘colourful’ start.

The scheme extends support to all the 72.09 lakh farmers in the State with an avowed aim to enhance agricultural productivity by by providing investment for their farm inputs thereby breaking the vicious cycle of rural indebtedness.

Pending doubts

However, not all farmers would get the investment cheques, or even the pattadar passbooks scheduled for distribution in the eight-day exercise starting May 10, this is official now.

With a number of errors in the LRUP, a rectification exercise of “clearing only confident ones” is on.

To avoid backlash from ‘withheld farmers’ who would bad-mouth the scheme, the government has come up with pre-printed colour tokens to ensure only such beneficiaries visit the distribution centre and receive a cheque or passbook, or both, on the day.

Four categories

Accordingly, farmers have been categorised under ‘RGB colour model’ based on the perceived risk and red, green, blue and white tokens are being distributed to farmers.

Only the farmers with a white token would receive both the incentive cheque and the pattadar passbook.

All the tokens that have been printed centrally carry particulars of the beneficiary, including the bank details and the date for encashment of the cheque.

Officials say the colour token system would also ensure better queue management.

Data correction

According to official sources, the exercise to further rectify data by cheques and passbooks as against the ‘pure record’ was in full swing, and the distribution of category-wise tokens in villages has started.

Several mistakes — amount difference in printed cheques, records showing more than actual extent, lands including non-agriculture, and those under Prohibition of Tranfers Act, beneficiaries not showing Aadhaar, or inclusion of deceased — existed in all categories.

Further, clerical errors leading to photo mismatches — a reason to withhold cheques and passbooks are extra.