State govt to give gratuitous relief to small, marginal farmers

Mysuru: The state government has decided to provide gratuitous relief (GR) to small and marginal farmers (SMF) who own rain-fed agricultural land and have suffered losses due to drought in 2023-24. This is the first time the state government is offering such relief to farmers, and they have welcomed the move, saying it will greatly boost their morale.
It can be noted that in the 2023 monsoon season, 223 taluks of Karnataka state were notified as drought hit.
As of June 26, the revenue department authorities have identified 17.88 lakh SMF families and 19.82 lakh farmers across the state who are eligible for the relief. The state government will allocate over Rs 512 crores to provide GR to these farmers. The relief amount will be directly transferred to the beneficiary farmers’ Aadhar-linked bank accounts.
One of the unique aspects of this relief scheme is that eligible farmers are not required to apply. The relief will be directly released using the details available on the government of Karnataka’s FRUITS and KUTUMBA applications.
“The relief amount is in the pipeline. For the first time, we have paid Gratuitous Relief to
drought-affected SMF owning rain-fed land,” Rashmi V Mahesh, principal secretary (revenue department) told TOI.
The state government has framed guidelines for this support, with the aim of assisting the livelihood of small and marginal farmers affected by the drought. It also seeks to prevent the migration of affected families to urban areas and provide crucial support to poor families.
Farmers have expressed their gratitude to the state government for this new initiative. Badagalapura Nagendra, president of the Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha, said, this initiative of the revenue department will be a morale booster for the farmers affected by the drought.
“We appreciate this decision. What has made this initiative special is, government launched this scheme voluntarily without any demand from the farmers. We are looking forward for such pro-people initiatives from all government departments,” Nagendra said.