HC Orders Farm Labourers Inclusion For Indiramma Atmeeya Bharosa

The Telangana High Court today directed the State government to extend the benefits of the Indiramma Atmeeya Bharosa scheme to the landless agricultural workers living in municipal areas, too, treating them on par with the beneficiaries in villages.

The court issued this order while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a Gavinolla Srinivas, a resident of Narayanpet municipality.

Srinivas in his petition mentioned that the scheme's financial aid of Rs 12,000 per year was being provided only to landless farm workers in rural gram panchayats, excluding those in municipal regions.

The petitioner's lawyer, Chikkudu Prabhakar, informed the court that over 8 lakh landless agricultural workers lived within the jurisdiction of 129 municipalities across Telangana, and that limiting the scheme's benefits to rural areas violated Supreme Court rulings that mandated equality.

Acknowledging the argument, the court ordered the Chief Secretary to ensure that the scheme covered all eligible landless farm workers, regardless of where they lived.

For context, the Indiramma Atmeeya Bharosa scheme provides Rs 12,000 annually to landless farm workers in two installments of Rs 6,000 each, distributed every six months.