- Following a breach of the model norms of conduct, the ECI ordered the Telangana government to halt all payouts under the state government’s Rythu Bandhu Scheme.
Key Facts About the Rythu Bandhu Scheme
- Farmer’s Investment Support initiative (FISS) is another name for the Rythu Bandhu initiative.
- It is a farmer welfare project launched by the Telangana government in 2018.
- The state government allocated 5,000 per acre of land to Telangana’s 58 lakh farmers as a farm investment for two crops under the initiative.
- A farmer’s holdings are not limited to a certain number of acres.
- So, a farmer with two acres of land would earn Rs 20,000 per year from the government, but a farmer with ten acres would receive Rs one lakh per year.
- This is done twice a year, once for the kharif harvest and once for the Rabi harvest.
- It is the country’s first direct farmer investment support system, with money delivered directly to the recipient.
Suspension reasons
- In compliance with the model code of conduct, the electoral commission has approved the release of monies for the rabi harvest this season, providing they are not published.
- The model code, however, was breached after the state finance minister made a public disclosure about it.
Source: https://www.thehindu.com/elections/telangana-assembly/election-commission-withdraws-rythu-bandhu-disbursement-with-immediate-effect/article67578799.ece