Telangana CM vows Rs 100K waiver for each eligible farmer if he wins polls

CM K Chandrasekhar Rao also promised to double the old age pension

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday assured Rs 100,000 farm loan waiver, besides increasing assistance under the Rytu Bandhu scheme to Rs 10,000 per annum from the current Rs 8,000, if the TRS was voted to power once again.   

Announcing some of the important points of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti's manifesto for the December 7 Assembly polls, he said the pension amount would be doubled and the eligible age limit reduced to 57 years from the existing 65.  

As soon as we came to power in 2014, we realised that farmers of the state have to be supported. As part of that, we announced farm loan waiver of Rs 100,000 in the run-up to the elections. As promised, we implemented it. 

However, as the farmers need further support, the TRS felt the scheme should be implemented once again and so announced the present loan waiver programme, which would be done in one or two instalments

The complete manifesto was still being worked out and yet to be announced, he said.

"People are anxious to know TRS' manifesto. So we have announced a partial manifesto," he said.

The TRS government has waived Rs 100,000 farm loan by spending over Rs 170 billion in four instalments.

There are about 4.5 million farmers who avail of bank loans, of which nearly 4.2 million took loans of less than Rs 100,000, he said, justifying the Rs 100,000 ceiling for the loan waiver.

Under the scheme, an assistance of Rs 8,000 an acre would be given to all eligible farmers in two instalments of Rs 4,000 each. 

The first instalment was distributed to farmers in May and the second tranche will be given in November.

"Rytu Bandhu scheme will be increased to Rs 10,000 per annum in two instalments of Rs 5,000 per acre," he said.

On the pension scheme, KCR said under Aasara Scheme, the amount would be increased to Rs 2,016 per individual from the existing Rs 1,000.

Similarly, pension for the physically challenged would also be doubled to Rs 3,016 from the existing Rs 1,500.

The chief minister also promised an allowance of Rs 3,016 for unemployed youth. He, however, said the modalities were being worked out for the scheme.

He said a committee has been formed under Deputy Chief Minister K Srihari to work out various programmes for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, amounting to Rs 150 billion and Rs 60 billion, respectively.

Rao said the double bedroom housing scheme would be continued with more vigour and some more options would also be included in the scheme. 

He said the manifesto was being prepared after taking inputs from over 300 suggestions that the manifesto committee received.

Rao said the state expected to register Rs 10.30 trillion revenue in the next five years from all quarters. Of this amount, Rs 2.30 trillion would go towards debt servicing, he said.