About 55 lakh farmers in Telangana will get fertilisers free of cost from the next financial year. The government will deposit money directly into the bank accounts of farmers in the last week of May well ahead of the 2018 kharif season. Each farmer is likely to get about Rs 4,000 an acre. The State consumes about 25 lakh tonnes of fertilisers.

Announcing this here on Thursday, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao has asked the farmers to form village farmers’ associations to prepare the detailed list of farmers and the extent of land they have. These groups will be asked to ready the list with bank account numbers.

He was addressing a group of farmers that came to meet him at his residence to thank him for completing the loan waiver to the tune of Rs 17,000 crore. “The village farmers’ associations must be very strong and inclusive by providing representation to farmers from all castes,” he said.

He said the government was committed to provide water to an additional one crore acres as promised. “We are reviving water tanks through Mission Kakatiya and supplying quality power for nine hours. Even in the peak of summer we are giving quality power. We have made plans to fill Nizamsagar with water from Medigadda. We will give water to one crore acres,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party has termed the Chief Minister’s offer of free fertilisers as a farce. “While they are suffering now, the Chief Minister is saying they will give them money next year. The government must come out with that offer this year itself,” BJP spokesperson Krishna Sagar Rao has said in a statement.

“Why wait till the next financial year? It’s just 13 days into the new financial year,” he said.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW