Telangana farmers betrayed: KTR writes to Rahul & Kharge

Hyderabad, Aug 18 (IANS) Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K. T. Rama Rao has written a letter to Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on the alleged betrayal by the Congress government in Telangana regarding the crop loan waiver

He claimed that he is writing on behalf of lakhs of the farmers of Telangana, who have been deeply disappointed by the Congress government's failure to fulfil its promise of a crop loan waiver.

Rama Rao reminded Rahul Gandhi that he and Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, made a grand promise during the Assembly elections to implement a Rs 2 lakh loan waiver.

"However, the reality on the ground tells a different story. While the Congress government has initiated the loan waiver process, it has fallen short of its commitments. A significant number of farmers across Telangana have been excluded from the scheme, despite meeting all eligibility criteria. The government, which initially announced a waiver of loans up to Rs. 2 lakhs, has severely limited the number of beneficiaries," reads the letter.

The BRS leader mentioned that data from the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) reveals the gravity of the situation. Banks disbursed Rs 49,500 crore in crop loans to farmers during the financial year 2023-24, but only Rs 17,933 crore have been waived, covering just 22.37 lakh farmers.

"To put this in perspective, the BRS government waived crop loans up to Rs One lakh, amounting to Rs 19,198 crore for 36.68 lakh farmers. Despite the Congress party's promise to waive loans up to Rs 2 lakhs, the number of beneficiaries surprisingly decreased by 14.31 lakh. In fact, the number of beneficiaries should have increased to 47 lakh farmers, but it instead decreased to 22.37 lakh farmers."

According to SLBC, as of March 31, 2024, the total crop loans stood at Rs 49,500 crore disbursed by December. Although the Congress government initially estimated needing Rs 40,000 crore to fulfil its loan waiver promise, the amount was reduced to Rs 31,000 crore in a cabinet meeting and further cut to Rs 26,000 crore in budget allocations. Ultimately, only Rs 17,933 crore was finalised in three instalments, wrote KTR

"This indicates a clear reluctance by the Congress government to honour its commitments, leading to a growing sense of betrayal among farmers who placed their trust in your party's promises. Farmers are now forced to navigate a bureaucratic maze, running from banks to officials, seeking answers as to why they have been excluded from the waiver," he said.

He claimed that thousands of complaints have been filed, and the WhatsApp helpline of BRS received over 1 lakh complaints in less than a week.

"This grim situation highlights discrepancies and what appears to be arbitrary restrictions imposed by the Congress government to reduce its financial burden at the expense of farmers. The farmers of our state feel cheated and abandoned, The BRS stands with the farmers and will continue to fight for their rights and ensure that their voices are heard," KTR added.

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