In Peddapalli, passbooks yet to be issued to 490 farmers

Hyderabad: There have been several complaints of many farmers not receiving benefits under the state government’s Rythu Bandhu scheme as they do not have passbooks. In one case, 33-year-old farmer P Ravi from a village in Peddapalli district’s Mutharam mandal is yet to be issued a passbook for the entirety of land his father had purchased over two decades back.

Locals of this particular village claim that there around 495 similar cases where passbooks have not been issued.

“My father, P Santhiah, had bought the land around 2 decades ago. Of the two acres that he bought, we received a passbook for only an acre-and-a-half. My father’s name reflects in the pahanis, however, the patta shows the name of another person. Officials say that this person is dead and that they cannot do anything to verify,” says P Ravi.

Locals in the village say that passbooks are yet to be issued for around 300 acres of land. These lands belong to over 490 different farmers.

“I belong to the same village and many of our farmers do not have passbooks,” said local activist Kache Sashibhushan.

Under the Tenancy Act, passbooks should be issued for those who got the land converted under their name and are cultivating the land. “The Mutharam tahsildar office had been burnt down twice, officials say that they have lost the records,” Sashibhushan said.

When contacted, Mandhani Revenue Divisional Officer, Nagesh said that some of the farmers had not been issued passbooks owing to disputes but also claimed that the number of such farmers was not very high. “We have been conducting gram sabhas regularly. We will soon resolve all the issues,” the official said.

“During many mutations, that happen to parcel of land from the original owner, sometimes verifications do not happen properly and systematic errors do occur. In the end, those who are cultivating the land since long become the victims. Even banks deny them their benefits or issue loans” said Anvesh Reddy of the Kissan Congress.