Tehsildars to be authorised for land registration: KCR

Continuing slew of measures for the empowerment and welfare of the farmers, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday announced that from June 2 all the 500 odd Mandal Revenue Officers or Tehsildars will be get the authority to do land registration. So far only the sub registrars had the power to register the lands.

KCR made the announcement while launching the ambitious Rythu Bandhu or the Crop Investment Support scheme on Thursday at Dharmarajupally village in Karimnagar district.

He also launched the handing over of the support of financial support as well as the new pattadar passbooks or the land owning documents prepared  after a statewide land record streamlining program. He said henceforth the farmers will not have to pledge their land records with banks to avail loans.

“Rythu Bandhu scheme has the potential to change the future course of the country”, KCR said.

Addressing a mammoth gathering KCR said, “launching of the Rythu Bandhu scheme marks the beginning of a golden era in the country as no other state from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Assam to Maharashtra had such a scheme to help the farmers”.

Under the scheme the Government will give financial support of Rs 4000 per acre per crop to 58 lakh farmers in the State. KCR, who handed over the cheques and the new passbooks to the farmers on the occasion said that each and every eligible farmer will get the benefits of the new scheme. “There is no need for you to become anxious if there is any delay. The cheques will reach you”, he said. “The State Government has earmarked Rs 12000 crore for the scheme in the budget”.

Under the land record purification program of the 2.9 crore acres land in the State, 2.3 crore acre land was verified and 1.4 crore acre was found cultivable, KCR said adding that whether the farmers take up the cultivation or not, all the 58 lakh farmers will get the support under Rythu Bandhu.

Chief Minister also moved a resolution at the public meeting, passed by the audience with applause demanding the Centre to increase the minimum support price for all the crops by  25%. He also demanded that the National Rural Employment guarantee scheme should be linked to agriculture and the compensation to the laborer should be equally shared by the Centre and the farmer on whose land the laborer works.

“Once the land record is updated following any transaction the same will be update on the website and the owners if they are sitting in Australia or London can see it”, the Chief Minister said assuring that this will protect the interest of the land owners and there will not be any corruption or irregularity in it.

Listing out the achievements of his government since the formation of the Telangana state four years ago, “there was a time when the farmers were committing suicide due to their inability to pay the electricity bills. Now the State Government was supplying round the clock free electricity to them. Today if there is a power shut down it was a news. But earlier power coming was a news”.

Referring to the brisk work on Kaleshwaram and other irrigation projects, KCR said that the state government was committed to ensure irrigation for 10 million acres of land.

The state has 2.4 crore acres of land out of which 1.35 crore acre was arable, he said. The Chief Minister thanked the official machinery from the Chief Secretary down to the village revenue officer for working round the clock and achieving the impossible task of cleaning and correcting the land records in the villages. Telangana was the only state in the country to achieve this feat, he added.

Highlighting the unique features of schemes and programs launched by his government over the last four years, the Chief Minister said that Telangana was the only state to introduce the welfare schemes for all sections of society. “We are not blowing our own trumpet. You are getting Rs 1000 per person pension in your hands. If irrigation projects were being built you are seeing the water in the canals. Under Kalyana Lakshmi, your daughters are getting Rs 1 lakh for their marriage”.

On the residential schools for SCs, STs, Backward Classes and Minorities, he said that even forward castes like Reddys, Velamas and Rajus wanted to admit their children in these schools. “I have assured them that they will also get similar schools to help the poorer sections among them”.

 “Telangana is the only state to have allocated Rs 2000 crore for minority welfare”, he said.

IN what was clearly an attempt to further strengthen the hold of the ruling TRS on its support base in rural Telangana and among the farmers, the Chief Minister targeted the main opposition Congress party and described it “a party which tried to obstruct the formation of Telangana state”. He said that Congress was now coming in the way of the development projects and schemes as it was afraid of loosing its base in the state.

On the occasion the Chief Minister also felificated Anudeep Durishetty of Jagatiyal who secured the top position in the recently held Union Public Service Commission examination. “He has proved Telangana people are not of low intellect”, he said.