Telangana Cabinet To Buy Paddy From Farmers At MSP After Centre's Refusal

For each quintal of paddy, the government would pay Rs 1,960. Farmers' bank accounts will be instantly credited with the funds.

Representational Image. (Source: Getty Images)

New Delhi: With the Centre refusing to buy paddy from Telangana farmers during the current Rabi season, the state government opt to purchase it on Tuesday, news agency IANS reported.

The decision was made by the state cabinet during a meeting presided over by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who led a protest in Delhi on Monday asking that the Centre purchase the whole rice harvest.

Leaders lead by example !!

After the Modi Govt failed the Telangana paddy farmers, Hon’ble CM KCR Garu has announced that the state Govt will buy entire paddy at MSP.

Historic decision made by people’s leader !! #KCRForFarmers#TRSforTelangana pic.twitter.com/Ut6KXIocdM

— Kavitha Kalvakuntla (@RaoKavitha) April 12, 2022

KCR, as the Chief Minister is affectionately known, informed reporters that the decision was made in the best interests of farmers. Beginning Wednesday, purchasing centres will be open in all communities.

For each quintal of paddy, the government would pay Rs 1,960. Farmers' bank accounts will be instantly credited with the funds.

KCR urged farmers not to sell their paddy for less than the Minimum Support Price (MSP). He guaranteed farmers that the state government would acquire every grain, even if it meant incurring a loss of Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,500 crore.

He urged that the Centre reimburse the state for 37% of losses during the Rabi season, citing the Centre's constitutional obligation to safeguard the country's food security.

He stated that the proportion of damaged rice will be greater owing to the high temperatures during the season. While one quintal of paddy generates 67 kg rice during the Kharif season, only 34 to 35 kg of rice is produced during the Rabi season.

A four-member group led by the Chief Secretary will investigate ways to reduce the damage caused by broken rice.

The Chief Minister slammed the Centre for refusing to acquire Telangana paddy. He said that when a ministerial committee visited with him to request paddy, Union Food Minister Piyush Goyal insulted the people of Telangana.

KCR, who held a dharna on the matter in Delhi, said he exposed the Central government in front of the country.

He said that although the government did not have Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 3,500 crore to acquire paddy, it enabled scammers to steal thousands of crores from public sector banks and depart the country, while simultaneously waiving another Rs 10.5 lakh crore to large corporations.

He claimed it was India's misfortune to have an "anti-farmer" administration at the helm, and he accused the government of plotting to transfer agriculture to the corporate sector.

He outlined the actions done by his government over the previous seven years to boost the agriculture industry and farmers' well-being. As a consequence of these efforts, he claims, the area under cultivation has surpassed one crore acres.

Telangana has the most paddy cultivation area in the country during the Rabi season, at 35.84 lakh acres. With 16.68 lakh acres, Andhra Pradesh is a distant second. Telangana's paddy production is estimated to be 83.83 lakh tonnes.

He said that no other government in the country or the globe provides Rs 10,000 per acre for agriculture every year. Every year, the government spends Rs 15,000 crore on this initiative known as 'Rythu Bandhu.'

KCR stated that the state government is spending a further Rs 1,500 crore on free power for farmers and Rs 1,600 crore on the 'Rythu Bhima' insurance plan.

(With IANS Inputs)