Formation of farmer committees in full swing

1,145 village and 60 mandal Farmer panels are formed across Nagarkurnool, Wanaparthy, Gadwal and Mahbubnagar districts

Mahbubnagar: Aiming to utilise the suggestions of farmers at village, mandal and district level in correcting land records, the district administrations of all four districts of erstwhile Mahabunagar has formed 1,145 village and 60 mandal Farmer Coordination Committees across Nagarkurnool, Wanaparthy, Gadwal and Mahbubnagar districts.

To take up the formation of Farmers Coordination Committees or Rythu Samanvaya Samithis, the State government had released the GO 39. According to the set guidelines in the G.O, the district authorities are forming the committees by nominating farmers at village, mandal and district level.

According to the Agriculture department officials, the members of the committee are nominated from within the village and the administration is giving priority to women candidates by appointing a female candidate at 1:3 ratio as per the government order.

“We are not having any powers in appointing members to the farmer committees. However, as per the GO, we are selecting local farmers as members of the committee,” informed a senior official from the Agriculture department, Mahbubnagar.

While the formation of committees is in full swing, the opposition parties have taken it as an issue and have been opposing the State government’s unilateral decision to bring in the GO 39 without consulting the opposition parties. “The government does not have any love for the farmers. They are constituting the committees eying 2019 elections.

They are appointing people who are favoring TRS as members of the farmers committees. We demand the government to immediately revoke the GO and provide justice to farmers irrespective of their party affiliation,” said Dr Mallu Ravi, vice-president of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee, while taking part in a dharna in Mahbubnagar on Tuesday.

However, the government is of the view that formation of farmers coordination committees will make revenue officials job in correcting the land records easy. As the State government is planning to deposit Rs 4,000 into the accounts of each farmer from next year, it is planning to take up a comprehensive land survey to ascertain the number of farmer beneficiaries. “The opposition parties are unnecessarily creating problems by raking up the issue.

The main objective of farmers’ coordination committee is to unite the farmers and help them in getting rights,” informed Dr C Laxma Reddy, Minister for Health and Family Welfare, while taking part in an Rythu Samanwaya Samithi awareness training programme in the district.