Tenant farmers demand their rights

metro india news  I hyderabad

Civil society groups and intellectuals have demanded that the Congress government immediately fulfil its promises to tenant farmers by implementing the 2011 Licensed Cultivators Act and extending all welfare schemes to them. The demand was raised at a roundtable meeting organised by Rythu Swarajya Vedika with participation from activists, experts, and farmer representatives.

Speakers noted that Telangana has over 22 lakh tenant farmers, constituting nearly 36 percent of the farming community. Despite this, most are excluded from institutional credit and government schemes, pushing them into deep debt. Participants expressed concern that nearly 80 per cent of farmer suicides in the state involve tenant farmers, blaming government inaction for the crisis.

A joint platform titled “Telangana Tenant Farmers’ Recognition Committee” was announced to lead a sustained struggle for farmer recognition and rights. Eminent economist and member of the Jayati Ghosh Commission, Prof. D. Narasimha Reddy, will chair the committee. The forum also unveiled a joint action plan to intensify pressure on the state government.

Participants stressed that under the 2011 law, the government is responsible for accepting applications from tenant farmers, verifying them through gram sabhas, and issuing Loan Eligibility Cards (LECs), which would enable access to crop loans and welfare schemes.

Farmers from various districts shared ground-level issues, stating that from urea distribution and subsidies to crop compensation and sale payments, they face barriers due to lack of land ownership documents. They highlighted that even during crop sales, the presence of landowners and passbooks is mandatory, leaving tenant farmers at a disadvantage. A cultural presentation by the Kisan Mitra team depicted the challenges faced by tenant farmers in dealing with officials and landowners.

The meeting demanded immediate implementation of the 2011 Act from May 2026, a statewide awareness campaign, issuance of LEC cards, bank directives for crop loans, and arrangements to ensure payments reach tenant farmers during the ongoing Rabi season.

The action plan includes village-level meetings, surveys, farmer mobilisation, district-level discussions, media outreach, and statewide protests to pressure the government. Participants included Prof. Haragopal, Prof. Kodandaram, Justice Chandrakumar, Kondaveeti Satyavathi (Bhoomika), P. Shankar (Dalit Bahujan Front), Prof. Aribandi Prasad Rao (Telangana Rythu Sangham), Ambati Nagaiah (Telangana Vidyavantula Vedika), Ravichander (Telangana People’s JAC), Meera Sanghamitra (NAPM) and others.