Hyderabad: Telangana Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Wednesday said the state was set to achieve record paddy procurement during the ongoing Rabi 2025-26 season.
Addressing a press conference at the BR Ambedkar Secretariat in Hyderabad, the minister said the government had adopted a robust strategy for seamless procurement despite adverse weather conditions.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said the Congress government had improved cultivation, production, and procurement compared with the previous BRS administration.
He also accused the BRS of spreading false propaganda and creating confusion among farmers over the procurement drive.
Paddy procurement target reaches 90 lakh metric tonnes
The minister said paddy cultivation covered 67 lakh acres during the current Rabi season. He added that Telangana expected a yield of 141 lakh metric tonnes.
According to Uttam Kumar Reddy, the government fixed a procurement target of 90 lakh metric tonnes.
The state also allocated Rs.21,501 crore towards Minimum Support Price payments for farmers.
So far, the government procured 17.28 lakh metric tonnes of paddy and directly transferred Rs.2,310 crore into farmers’ bank accounts.
Paddy procurement centres increased across Telangana
Uttam Kumar Reddy said the government established 8,575 procurement centres across Telangana. In comparison, the previous Rabi season under the BRS government had 7,178 centres.
The minister said officials arranged 2.63 lakh tarpaulins to protect paddy stocks from unseasonal rain.
Moreover, the government made available more than 18.75 crore gunny bags and identified an additional storage capacity of 11.20 lakh metric tonnes.
Officials also deployed over 6,200 trucks to transport procured paddy quickly to rice mills.
The minister said the government would not tolerate short-weighing or harassment of farmers at procurement centres. He warned that authorities would take strict action against those involved in malpractice.