AP govt to enact law ensuring legal security to tenant farmers

Hyderabad, Jan 18 (PTI) The Andhra Pradesh governmentwill soon enact a legislation that will ensure "legalsecurity" to tenant farmers as well as safeguard the rights ofthe land owners.

"It will be a full protective legislation that will takecare of the interests of both the land owners as well as thetenant farmers, who hitherto did not enjoy any specific rightsor benefits under the existing laws," state Revenue Minister NRaghuveera Reddy said here today.

Talking to mediapersons at the end of an all-partymeeting in the state Secretariat, Raghuveera said a seconddraft of the proposed legislation was being prepared inconsultation with the Revenue, Finance, Law, Co-operationDepartments and the State-Level Bankers'' Committee.

The draft legislation would be put up for publicdiscussion upto the mandal level to elicit necessary feedbackfrom all stakeholders.

"We will enact the legislation in the Budget session ofstate Legislature next month," the Minister added.

"Tenant farmers were deprived of loans from regularfinancial institutions or insurance and other compensationpayment in case of any loss.

With the efforts of the state government, banks extendedloans to 15,000 tenant farmers in 2005 and the number rose to1.5 lakh in 2009-10. In 2010-11, however, only one lakh tenantfarmers could get loans from banks and other financialinstitutions in the state," he noted.

Banks were wary of extending loans since both the landowner and the tenant farmers were availing of the facility inmany instances. To overcome this problem, the state governmenthas decided to issue loan eligibility cards to tenant farmersthis year, Raghuveera said.

All political parties unanimously supported thegovernment''s initiative to enact legislation to safeguard theinterests of tenant farmers, he added.