TDP govt’s latest U-turn: Only ₹14,000/year for farmers

The TDP-led NDA government has once again backtracked on its promise. In a statement in the Assembly, Agriculture Minister Kinjarapu Atchannaidu announced that the State government will extend ₹14,000 per year to farmers under the Annadata Sukhibhava scheme. This is in contrast to the government's earlier promise of providing ₹20,000 to each farmer, in addition to the Centre's share of ₹6,000.

It should be noted that Annadata Sukhibhava was one of the key Super Six promises made by Chandrababu Naidu during the election campaign. The government's latest U-turn has left farmers disappointed.

Reacting to the news, YSRCP MLC Varudu Kalyani charged the NDA government with backstabbing the farmers. “The coalition’s manifesto states that ₹20,000 will be extended to each farmer every year. Now, the Agriculture Minister says this includes ₹6,000 of the Central government’s share under the PM Kisan scheme,” she pointed out.

This development comes on the heels of the NDA government announcing that the free bus scheme for women will be restricted to their respective districts.

Speaking in the Legislative Council, Minister for Women and Child Welfare Gummadi Sandhya Rani explained that the government would only offer free bus travel to women within their districts and not throughout the State.

The free bus scheme for women, another key promise from the Super Six agenda, was widely advertised ahead of the elections. Even after coming to power, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu constituted a Group of Ministers and tasked them with studying similar schemes implemented in Telangana and Karnataka.