Dharani Portal changed the land rights scenario in villages: Bhatti Vikramarka

Adilabad: Deputy Chief Minister and chairman of the cabinet sub-committee on Rythu Bharosa, Bhatti Vikramarka, said on Thursday that the state government would frame the modalities of its implementation with an open mind. He made it clear that the sub-committee on behalf of the state government was collecting opinions from farmers and “we will judiciously re-distribute the money collected from the public in the name of taxes in this connection.”

Bhatti Vikramarka was speaking at a consultation meeting with farmers and their bodies as also elected representatives, on Rythu Bharosa at Utnoor in Adilabad district. He said the situation has changed for the better in the villages as far as land ownership is concerned. “It has become like before. After the Dharani portal came in, many land disputes cropped up during the term of the previous government,” he said

“Tribals and non-tribals have lost the rights on their lands and suffered a loss in the agency areas following the introduction of the Dharani portal in the Adilabad region. I noticed this change during my People’s March from Adilabad that lasted a month,” he said. Some farmers suggested grant of pattas to the podu lands being cultivated by tribes and non-tribes to enable them to get Rythu Bharosa. They also sought steps for the land transfer to the children from their parents in the agency areas so that, in future, the children can claim the rights on the lands divided among them by their parents.

Bhatti Vikramarka said, “We would take up work on the BR Ambedkar Pranahitha – Chevella Sujala Sravanti project on River Pranahitha. We will also complete the construction of the Korata-Chanaka barrage and eight other medium irrigation projects on a priority basis in the Adilabad region.” He made it clear that the government would give farmers a crop loan wavier in August by overcoming all odds.

Rural development minister Seethakka said many landlords who owned hundreds of acres got the benefit of Rythu Bandhu, whereas many farmers and tenant farmers who did not have a single acre were denied the benefit under the BRS rule. She said the state government would rectify this irregularity and do justice to the poor



and genuine farmers. She said the grandsons of a former collector who worked in the erstwhile Warangal district came back recently and claimed the rights on the 16,000 acres of land that their family had abandoned long back. 

Chief minister A Revanth Reddy would visit Adilabad as part of his district tours, she said. Agriculture minister Thummala Nageshwar said, “We will not give Rythu Bharosa to the lands that are not under cultivation and the state government aims to pay a premium to the farmers for crop insurance.” Revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas asked farmers to suggest ways to ensure justice to the tenant farmers and how to get consent from pattadars for giving Rythu Bharosa to the lands taken on lease by tenant farmers. A farmer requested the sub-committee to bring in an act imposing a cut-off on the on-lease price charged for tenant farmers for lease of lands by pattadars. Some other farmers suggested giving Rythu Bharosa only upto 5 acres of land and some others upto 10 acres. 

A few farmers suggested giving bonuses in addition to the MSP on crops. Some non-tribal farmers regretted that non-tribal farmers were not getting Rythu Bandhu for their lands and crop loans from banks in the agency area though they have been living there for three generations. MLAs Premsagar Rao, Palvai Harish and Kova Laxmi requested the sub-committee to issue pattas to the podu lands since podu cultivation has emerged as a serious problem. They also sought completion of the pending projects in the district. Vedma Bojju said some people were coming back to villages after deserting their lands long back and claiming rights with the pattas issued by the BRS government on the lands being cultivated by the local people. 

However, all the MLAs, irrespective of their party affiliations, welcomed the state government's initiative to take opinions from the farmers and their bodies on Rythu Bharosa. MLAs Rama Rao Patel, Gaddam Vivek, Anil Jadhav, MLC Dande Vittal, Payal Shankar and MPs Godam Nagesh, Vamsi Krishna and collectors Rajarshi Shah, Avinash Abhinav, Kumar Deepak, Venkatesh Dhotre and ITDA project officer Kush Bhoo Guptha were present.