Andhra govt halved farmers aid beneficiaries: Congress' Sharmila

Kakinada: Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Y S Sharmila on Saturday accused the TDP-led government of drastically reducing the number of eligible beneficiaries for its ‘Annadata Sukhibhava’ scheme, which promises annual financial aid of Rs 20,000 to farmers.

‘Annadata Sukibhava’ is a key component of the ‘Super Six’ schemes announced by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in the run-up to the 2024 general elections.

Addressing reporters here, Sharmila said, “Super Six is a super flop. Annadata Sukhibhava has turned into sorrow. While there are over 93 lakh farmers in the state, half of them have been cut short under the guise of eligibility criteria.” She alleged that the NDA alliance government is planning to extend this scheme only to 47 lakh farmers while excluding about 43 lakh peasants.

On Friday, Dilli Rao, Director of Agriculture, said in an official release that 98 per cent of the farmers eligible for ‘Annadata Sukhibhava’ have completed their e-KYC (verification), and 47.7 lakh farmers have been identified as eligible beneficiaries.

“This data was verified at the village level through the Annadata Sukhibhava portal and validated at the state level. As a result, 47.77 lakh farmer families have been identified as eligible beneficiaries,” said Rao.

Around 61,000 farmers across the state still need to complete their e-KYC, he said, adding that a grievance redressal module will be made available soon for farmers whose records haven’t been verified yet. ‘

Annadata Sukhibhava’ includes Rs 6,000 from the Centre under PM-KISAN and an additional Rs 14,000 from the state government, totalling up to Rs 20,000 per year.

Questioning the rationale behind the alleged exclusions from ‘Super Six’ promises, the AP Congress president sought to know why the government did not inform people in advance about it.

According to the opposition leader, ‘Talliki Vandanam’ scheme also effected exclusions from 87 lakh students to 67 lakh. She also asked why free bus travel for women hasn’t been implemented yet. Targeting the YSRCP, Sharmila alleged that the campaigns being undertaken by the party are ‘not’ genuinely for people, and claimed that Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy picks causes that ‘only benefit him’.

Attacking the BJP for allegedly harming the interests of the southern state, Sharmila said the saffron party has ignored the bifurcation promises. Meanwhile, there was no immediate reaction from the TDP.