Hyderabad: Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to grant national project status to the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Pranahita-Chevella project.
He made the demand ahead of Modi’s visit to Karimnagar. The project was designed during the Congress government in undivided Andhra Pradesh.
Bhatti said the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act included a promise from the Centre. It had assured national status to one major irrigation project in Telangana.
National project status demand raised
Bhatti said the Union government had a duty to fulfil that commitment. He said the BJP government gave national project status to Polavaram in Andhra Pradesh after 2014.
However, he said Telangana did not get the same support for even one project. He called it discrimination against the state.
Earlier, Bhatti joined Ministers Duddilla Sridhar Babu, Tummala Nageshwar Rao and Ponnam Prabhakar at Gambhiraopet in Sircilla district. They performed the ground-breaking ceremony for a compressed biogas plant.
Biostratum Technologies Private Limited set up the plant at Pantalugari Thota.
Bhatti also said the Telangana government bought every crop grown by farmers at the Centre’s Minimum Support Price. However, he accused the Centre of delaying grain lifting and funds.
He said the Centre should not limit its role to announcing MSP for a few crops. Instead, it should procure every grain collected by the state and release payments on time.
National project status and farm issues
Bhatti said the Congress government had begun using paddy straw to produce biogas. He described it as a new step in agriculture.
He also urged farmers to take up crop diversification. He said farmers could improve their income by reducing dependence on paddy.
Further, he asked them to shift toward horticulture crops, millets and oil palm.