Hyderabad: BRS MLA and former minister T. Harish Rao accused the Congress government of failing farmers by delaying crop procurement across Telangana.
In an open letter to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, Harish Rao alleged that Congress made false promises to farmers before the elections. He said the government failed to implement those promises after coming to power.
He questioned why paddy procurement had not started fully even though heaps of grain had reached procurement centres across the state.
Harish Rao alleged that officials continued deductions in the name of moisture and wastage at procurement centres and rice mills. He also accused the government of ignoring farmers waiting in extreme heat.
Crop procurement delays draw BRS criticism
The BRS leader demanded immediate payment of the promised Rs.500 bonus per quintal for fine paddy along with procurement payments.
He also criticised the handling of sunflower procurement. According to him, farmers have been waiting at procurement centres for nearly 20 days.
Harish Rao said the Centre procured only a quarter of the sunflower produce. He added that nearly 1.20 lakh quintals still remained unsold.
He alleged that chickpea farmers were suffering because procurement had stopped at centres. As a result, farmers were selling produce to private traders for Rs.3,000 to Rs.4,000 per quintal despite the support price being Rs.5,875.
The BRS leader also questioned the delay in opening jowar procurement centres. In addition, he said maize farmers were suffering losses by selling produce for nearly Rs.2,500 per quintal against the minimum support price of Rs.3,371.
Harish Rao demanded that the government relax the procurement limit of 26.50 quintals per acre for maize farmers. He asked how farmers could sell the remaining produce if yields reached 30 to 40 quintals per acre.
He urged the government to procure all crops at minimum support price without delay. Otherwise, he warned that the party would intensify protests in support of farmers.