Issue eligibility cards to tenant farmers: Telangana all-party meet urges govt

An all-party meeting has called for implementing the Land Licensed Cultivators Act, 2011, and distributing loan eligibility cards to tenant farmers in Telangana. The meeting said in a resolution that this will help them access institutional credit.

“The government should implement the Act immediately and ensure that farmers receive their loan eligibility cards in the current season itself,” they felt.

Asking the government to take a decision in the ensuing Assembly session, representatives of various political parties said tenant farmers should be able to sell their produce to the government at the minimum support price.

Telangana Kisan Congress President S Anvesh Reddy, CPI leader Chada Venkata Reddy, and Telangana Jana Samithi leader Kodandaram were among the leaders who signed the statement.

Over 22 lakh families depend on tenant farming, contributing significantly to the State’s agriculture. The meeting felt that tenant farmers could not access various government schemes. They could not access institutional credit, which forced them to rely on moneylenders that charged exorbitant interest rates.