Story on Tenant farmers from Kadapa

There was a poor response to the Tenant Farmers in the district to the bank loan facility extended them to on par with land owners, after decades of struggle for it. This kind of situation prevailing due to lack of coordination between administration and bankers as the bankers ignoring to facilitate loans to the tenant farmers by showing technical reasons as the feel insecure in recovery aspect.

Despite the government made it clear to the bankers over sanction of crop loans, but it is reportedly bankers failed to implement orders due to various reasons. According to the sources only 554 farmers have secured crop loans from the banks against 1800 were issued Loan Eligibility Cards(LEC) for 2017-18 year. Remaining were kept in pending due to technical reasons.

The reason for the poor response from the tenant farmers were many including lack of awareness on the part both land owners and tenant farmers. Most of the land owners are reluctant to sign the form expressing their willingness for loan to their tenant farmers.

Even though the government clarifying that loan provision to tenant farmers will not no way affect the rights of the farmer(owner) of the land, many fear that the extension of bank loan facility to the tenant farmers will be strengthen tenant farmers claim over the land which in the long run will work against the interest of land owner. “ Despite government has issued assurance behalf of the tenant farmer in loan recovery aspect , but we fear once tenant farmer got the crop loan from the bank there will danger of he will be legalized for owner ship of that land in future. This was main reason most of the land owners ignored to sign the papers for issuing loans to the tenant farmers” said AP Rythu Sangam district president B.Dastagiri reddy. He said that failure of state government in including tenant farmers under Sukhi Bhava Pathakam is a major setback to them.

This apart, lack of publicity in the villages on the loan facility was also one of the reason for receiving poor response from the tenant farmers. The government directed to provide wide publicity in the gramasabhas and by word of mouth, which did not reach the people at grass root level.

An official said that the district administration has taken all measures for the success of new initiative. He said official meetings were held at various levels and coordination meetings were held with bankers for creating awareness on the loan facility. He hoped that the initiative would pickup.