Less than a week left for Telangana’s third Assembly election scheduled to be held on November 30, the state’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government has received approval from the Election Commission (EC) to disburse financial aid to farmers under the Rythu Bandhu welfare scheme. “The Commission has no objection to disbursement of Rythu Bandhu assistance and has further directed that the DBT (direct benefit transfer) scheme will not be affected during silence period and poll day in the State,” a notice from the EC read. Officials said disbursal of funds under the Rythu Bandhu scheme would begin on Friday, November 24.
As per the communique from the EC, farmers will be receiving their Rythu Bandhu deposits for the Rabi (Yasangi) season. The move is likely to benefit over 70 lakh farmers who will get Rs 7,500 crore overall.
Under Rythu Bandhu, financial assistance of Rs 5,000 per acre for each season is directly transferred into a farmer’s account. In their manifesto for the Assembly 2023 polls, the ruling BRS has vowed to increase the amount to Rs 16,000.
The scheme has emerged as a major talking point this election with Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, popularly known as KCR, and Congress leaders locking horns over it. KCR accused Congress of impeding the implementation of Rythu Bandhu, while Congress leaders alleged it offers no benefits to farmers in need.
The Forum for Good Governance, a civic body based in Hyderabad, had earlier asked the EC to stop the disbursal of Rythu Bandhu money before the elections.