The YSR Rythu Bharosa scheme inaugurated by Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has come under criticism from the TDP for multiple reasons. Nara Lokesh, TDP General Secretary and son of former CM Chandrababu Naidu, termed the scheme ‘YSR Rythu Nirasha (despair)’.
Lokesh accused the YSRCP government of going back on the incentive amount. “In the election promises, Rs 12,500 was promised under Rythu Bharosa. But now they’ve done reverse tendering for farmers by reducing the amount to Rs 7,500,” Lokesh tweeted, taking a jab at the YSRCP government’s decision to implement reverse tendering in various government projects.
వాయిదా పద్ధతి సీఎం @ysjagan గారూ, మీరు ప్రవేశపెట్టింది "వైఎస్ఆర్ రైతునిరాశ" కార్యక్రమం. ఎన్నికల హామీలో రైతుభరోసా కింద రూ.12,500 ఇస్తామని ప్రకటించి ఇప్పుడు కేవలం రూ.7,500 ఇస్తూ రైతులకూ రివర్స్ టెండరేశారు. 64 లక్షలమంది రైతుల్లో సగం మందిని తగ్గించుకుంటూ పోయారు.#JaganCheatedFarmers
— Lokesh Nara (@naralokesh) October 15, 2019
Rythu Bharosa, a scheme that provides a cash incentive for farm inputs, was one of the nine key promises among the ‘Navaratnalu’ made by the YSRCP in its election campaign. Although the total annual incentive was increased in the last moment from Rs 12,500 to Rs 13,500, and the scheme period extended from 4 to 5 years, the TDP’s criticism stems from the fact that Rs 6,000 from the total amount comes from the Centre under the PM KISAN Yojana scheme.
Responding to similar comments over naming the scheme after YSR while using funds from the Centre, Minister of Agriculture Kanna Babu told media that Jagan had instructed to include the name of the Centre’s scheme.
During a two-day visit to Nellore, where Jagan inaugurated the scheme on Tuesday, Naidu also criticised the implementation of the scheme and accused Jagan of making false promises. Addressing party workers, Naidu reportedly said that the government’s decision to only include around 40 lakh farmers in the scheme shows that many eligible farmers had been eliminated from the list.
At the inauguration of the scheme, Jagan released an amount of Rs 3,785 crore towards 38 lakh farmers in the state. With enrolments continuing till November 15, the number of beneficiaries is expected to increase. While the previous TDP government’s beneficiary list for a similar scheme included 43 lakh farmers, the CM has reportedly said that around 51 lakh farmers will be covered by Rythu Bharosa, apart from nearly 3 lakh tenant farmers.
Lokesh also said that the government had let down landless tenant farmers from the Open Category, or upper caste farmers, who were not covered under the scheme. The scheme covers landholding farmers who own up to 5 acres of land, and tenant farmers from SC, ST, BC and minority communities. In his inauguration speech, Jagan said that since most landless farmers belong to marginalised communities, around 3 lakh tenant farmers from these groups will be covered by the scheme.
కులాన్ని చూడము అంటూనే ఓసీలైన కౌలు రైతులకు మొండిచెయ్యి చూపారు. పెట్టుబడి సాయం ఒకేసారి ఇస్తామని మాటిచ్చి విడతల్లో ఇస్తూ మడమ తిప్పారు. మీ పార్టీ వాలంటీర్లకి నెలకు రూ.8000 ఇస్తూ.. ఆరుగాలం శ్రమించే అన్నదాతకు మాత్రం రూ.625 ఇవ్వడం న్యాయమా?#JaganFailedCM#JaganCheatedFarmers
— Lokesh Nara (@naralokesh) October 15, 2019