BJP’s double standards to the fore

While BJP-led Union Government ignores Telangana plea for financial aid to the State, Bandi demands immediate support farmers hit by unseasonal rains

Hyderabad: While the Centre had ignored the repeated pleas of the Telangana Government for grant of financial assistance to the State for devastation caused by floods earlier, the BJP state president has, however, demanded that the State government compensate the losses suffered by farmers due to recent unseasonal rains.

He also demanded that the State government immediately provide free fertilisers and seeds to farmers. Significantly, Sanjay has never even tried to convince the Centre to come to the rescue of Telangana government either in the current instance or on earlier occasions.

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On Monday, Sanjay wrote a letter to Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao demanding for extending immediate help to farmers who lost crops due to unseasonal rains. He alleged that more than five lakh acres of crops were damaged across the State, due to unseasonal rains. He even advised the State government not to waste time in the name of surveys and reports as well as demanded for a comprehensive crop insurance scheme to help farmers who have lost crops due to natural calamities.

The letter has been written nearly a week after a high-level committee chaired by union Home Minister Amit Shah approved additional assistance of Rs 1,816.16 crore under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to five States affected by floods, landslides and cloudbursts during 2022. However, Telangana’s plea to provide Rs 1,000 crore assistance in the wake of the unprecedented floods in Godavari River during July last year was ignored. In July last year, Telangana witnessed torrential rainfall across the State, especially in the northern and eastern districts.

Farmers too bore the brunt as their fields were flooded at the beginning of the Vaanakalam (Kharif) season itself. At least 15 persons died and over 30,000 were relocated to rescue camps. The State government estimated a loss of Rs 1,400 crore due to floods and submitted a report to the Centre on preliminary estimations of flood losses. It had sought immediate financial assistance of Rs 1,000 crore from the Centre.

It may be noted that the Centre had also ignored Telangana’s request for Rs 1,000 crore financial assistance following the unprecedented rains which flooded Hyderabad in August 2020. Incidentally, Bandi Sanjay promised to people of Hyderabad that he would replace the vehicles damaged during the rains and later, claimed that the vehicles will be replaced by the insurance companies.

Meanwhile, the State government has already deployed special teams to assess the crop loss and also written to the Centre to send its teams for crop loss assessment.

Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy had already announced that the State government will extend complete support to farmers who suffered crop damage.