Agriculture and Irrigation will get the top prioritiy in the budget said KCR the Chief Minister of Telangana.He was presenting the budget 2019-20.In terms of the initiatives taken, Telangana has become a trail blazer for the entire nation. The schemes being implemented in Telangana are receiving accolades from all corners of the country. Through RythuBhandu, RythuBhima, Land Records Updation, Farmers‟ Coordination Committees and other programmes, the Government has infused confidence in the farming sector. Telangana is considered as a State which is pro-farmer. We will strive hard to meet their expectations. To enable farmers to get remunerative prices for their produce, we will be establishing food processing units State-wide KCR assured.
These will be established in partnership with farmers. Soon after the formation of the State,the Government has decided to revive agriculture sector in Telangana for strengthening rural economy. To provide immediate relief to farmers, our Government has waived crop loans in the first instance. The crop loans of over 35,29,000 farmers amounting to Rs.16,124 crore were paid by the Government to the banks. This was one of the first promises made in 2014 and fulfilled. Seeds and fertilisers are being supplied on time. Waiting in long queues for fertilisersis a thing of the past. Manufacturers of spurious seeds and fertilisers were dealt with a firm hand.
Government has undertaken many initiatives to strengthen the Marketing Department. Our government has increased the capacity of godowns considerably. At the time of formation of Telangana State, there was a storage capacity of 4.17 lakh tonnes only. In the last 4 1⁄2 years, our Government has newly constructed 364 godowns which enhanced the storage capacity to 22.50 lakh tonnes. Apart from these immediate measures for relief, permanent steps have been taken he stated. To improve irrigation facilities, massive projects have been taken up. We are renovating tanks which were neglected and destroyed in the combined State. I take immense pride in sharing with this August House that Telangana is the only State in the country to supply free and quality power to farmers 24× 7
This Government will support the farmers till their situation improves. That is why we have made a promise of loan waiver during the recently held elections also. Redeeming our promise, we are proposing to waive off all agriculture term loans up to one lakh rupees, outstanding as on 11th of December, 2018. Towards this, an amount of Rs.6000 crore is proposed.
Keeping in view the imperative of ensuring timely investment in farm inputs, Telangana Government introduced a novel investment support scheme, named as “RythuBandhu”. Under this scheme, an investment support of Rs. 8,000 per acre has been extended to all farmers in the State. RythuBandhu is appreciated by the United Nations. This is a matter of pride to all of us. The scheme has been lauded as innovative by economists like Dr. Aravind Subramanian, former Chief Economic Adviser, Dr. Ashok Gulati, former Chairman of the Commission on Agriculture Costs and Prices and Dr. Ramesh Chand, Member, NITI Aayog.
Now RythuBhandu has become a national agenda. A number of States are implementing this scheme. But, under the recently introduced Pradhan MantriKisanSamman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) by the Government of India, the assistance is much smaller. In State legislatures, media coverage and other fora, this scheme has been considered a Role Model. This is a matter of immense pride to the people that Telangana model of development is being talked about extensively. I am happy to inform the House that the Government has decided to increase investment support under RythuBandhu. Currently, the Government is extending investment support of Rs.4,000 per acre per crop season amounting to Rs.8,000 per annum. I propose to increase this support to Rs.5,000 per acre per crop. The total support in a year will be Rs.10,000 per acre. The amount proposed in 2019-20 towards RythuBandhu is Rs.12,000 crore.
The Government has introduced RythuBima to ensure that in the event of an unfortunate death of a farmer, his family should not be on the roads. Under this scheme, in the event of farmer‟s death due to any cause, the insurance amount of Rs. 5 lakh will be paid to his family within ten days. So far an amount of Rs.5675 has been disbursed to 283 farmers. The Budget provision for Farmer Group Insurance Scheme proposed in 2019-20 is Rs.650 crore. 25. To provide a permanent solution to land disputes and litigations, our Government took up the gigantic and courageous step of comprehensive Land Records UpdationProgramme (LRUP) in the State. Working day and night, the teams have surveyed and certified/purified 95% of land records as litigation free and up to date. We are working hard to update the remaining land records. With a view to supporting poor farmers, the Government has taken up regularisation of SadaBainamas. The sale and purchase of land done through SadaBainamas have been given legal status with their registration by the Government without any charges. Fundamental reforms in registration of lands are being undertaken to make the system transparent. The Government is shortly launching “DHARANI” website with details of all land records in the State which is similar to core banking solution of the commercial banks.
The Government has decided to form crop colonies taking into account agro-climatic and environmental conditions and soil types in various districts. In this direction, the Agricultural University and the Agriculture Department are making serious efforts. The objective of the crop colonies is to align the cropping pattern to meet the requirement of people and the international demand. This will help the farmers in getting a remunerative price for their produce. As part of implementing this concept, small, medium and large scale food processing units will be set up in all parts of the State. In these units, it is proposed to make IKP employees, Women Organisations working in the State as partners. With an objective of providing unadulterated food to the people and remunerative prices to farmers, RythuSamanvayaSamithies (Farmer Coordination Committees) have been formed.
The intention of the Government is to bring the farmers under a single platform he said . It is the conviction of our Government that organised farmers will be able to protect their rights on their own. These Committees will also help farmers in getting remunerative prices for their produce and formation of crop colonies. The entire country is appreciating the commitment of the Government towards the farm sector and the expenditure incurred for the development of the sector he added. As a historic step, an amount of Rs.20,107 crore is proposed in 2019-20 Budget for Agriculture.
