BRS demands Rs 500 per quintal bonus for paddy farmers

BRS MLA Palla Rajeshwar Reddy said the delay in paddy procurement by the State govt was forcing farmers to sell their produce to private traders in open market for just Rs 1,500-1,700 per quintal

Hyderabad: The BRS accused the Congress government of failing to ensure Minimum Support Price (MSP) to paddy farmers during the ongoing procurement across the State. The party legislators stated that farmers are being forced to sell their produce for Rs 700 less than MSP of around Rs 2,203 per quintal paddy, rather than giving them Rs 500 bonus promised by the Congress during the Assembly elections.

Speaking to the media at Telangana Bhavan here on Friday, BRS MLA Palla Rajeshwar Reddy said the delay in paddy procurement by the State government was forcing farmers to sell their produce to private traders in open market for just Rs 1,500-1,700 per quintal against the MSP of Rs 2,203 for A-grade varieties and Rs 2,183 for common varieties. They said while the State government is unable to ensure MSP for farmers at the paddy procurement centres, the middlemen are dictating terms in the market yards.

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“During our visit in Jangaon district, we found that around 4,000 tonnes of paddy arrived at the market yards and procurement centres, but only 440 tonnes of paddy was purchased from the farmers through 193 procurement centres till date. As a result, the farmers are being forced to sell their produce at lesser prices to private traders and middlemen,” he said. He stated that even after the Chief Minister’s Office intervened, farmers received an additional Rs 30 per quintal.

Former legislators Gandra Venkataramana Reddy and M Srinivas Reddy said the farmers lost faith in the Congress government which deceived them in implementing crop loan waiver and disbursement of Rythu Bandhu financial assistance. They stated that the farmers were suffering from lack of support price on one side and withering/loss of crops on the other. They demanded that the State government initiate immediate measures to safeguard the farmers and their interests, by ensuring MSP for their produce and compensate for their losses.