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Tenant farmers on tenterhooks; LEC cards a far cry
Eighty per cent of the famers who committed suicide this year in Telangana were tenant farmers, 30 per cent of agriculture in Telangana was done by them yet the Loan Eligibility Cards (LEC) that provide them with cushion is still a far cry.
- Only 43,500 cards were issued in 2015-16 while the target was 4,15,000
- In Telangana, zero LEC cards were issued in 2014-15
- Farmer Unions demand that Government starts process of issuing cards from February 1, 2016
Hyderabad: Eighty per cent of the famers who committed suicide this year in Telangana were tenant farmers, 30 per cent of agriculture in Telangana was done by them yet the Loan Eligibility Cards (LEC) that provide them with cushion is still a far cry.
Reeling under drought and debt, tenant farmers are hoping that the government starts issuing LEC cards. Last year the process of issuing LEC was delayed, instead of February the cards were issued in May and as a result only 43,500 were issued in 2015-16, while the target was 4,15,000.
G V Ramanjaneyulu of Centre for Sustainable Agriculture says, “Out of 58,000 LEC cardholders in 2013-14, only 8,368 got bank loans (14 per cent). In spite of Rs 20,000 crore waiver announcement, hardly anyone is benefitted. At least this year the government should begin the process from February 1 and complete by May 15.”
Farmer Unions have been demanding the government that they ensure banks give loans to all LEC card holders. They also have been demanding that drought compensation should be given to all the current LEC cardholders.
B Chandra Reddy, CPM Rythu Sangham said, “86 per cent of farmers have less than five acres of land and LEC would help them tide over problems. There is a need to simplify the process so that tenant farmers are covered.”
The Rythu Swarajya Vedika (RSV) organised a round table on tenant farmer issues in Telangana on Wednesday at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram in which representatives of major farmer unions, people's organisations as well as activists working in various districts participated.
Around 30 per cent of agriculture in Telangana is done by tenant farmers. Many of them own one or two acres but are taking another three to four acres on lease. Some of them are completely landless. Unless tenant farmers are given loans they cannot come out of the debt trap. With no other option, they end up borrowing money from private moneylenders.
A conservative estimate is that there are at least 10 lakh tenant farmers in Telangana State. Most of them are dalits, women or BC farmers. Kiran Vissa of RSV says, “The benefit of zero-interest loans doesn’t reach them.”
