Senior officials from the Finance and Agriculture departments in Hyderabad are working hard to ensure that every eligible farmer benefits from the government scheme, as directed by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. The state Cabinet meeting on Friday will likely focus on this issue.
The Chief Minister had previously announced that the farm loan waiver scheme would be implemented by August 15. There are approximately 47 lakh farmers in the state, each with a debt burden of Rs 1 lakh or less. The government estimates that Rs 35,000 crore is needed to implement the scheme. Additionally, the government had promised to enhance the financial assistance under the Rythu Bharosa Scheme to Rs 15,000 and include tenant farmers. To determine eligibility for these schemes, the state government is looking at the criteria of the Pradhana Mantri Kisan Samman Yojana (PMKSY), which would make around 33 lakh farmers eligible and require Rs 25,000 crore for the farm loan waiver scheme.
A senior official mentioned that a new study on eligibility criteria is being conducted to exclude certain groups from the scheme, such as institutional landholders, government officials, politicians, and professionals like doctors and lawyers. Only genuine beneficiaries are intended to benefit from the scheme.
Certain groups like multi-tasking staff, class IV employees, and group D employees may remain eligible. However, retired employees with a pension over Rs 10,000, income tax assesses, and certain professionals will not qualify for the scheme.
