Cotton purchases to resume in Telangana; CCI agrees to relax norms

To prevent the situation from escalating any further, the State government held a meeting and mediated between the CCI and the ginning mills' owners to resolve the issue.

Hyderabad: With the ginning mills going on strike and farmers hitting the roads, the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) on Monday agreed to relax the new regulations for cotton purchases. The cotton procurement which came to a halt, will resume with immediate effect. The officials are expected to release more details shortly.

The State government facilitated a meeting between the CCI managing director Lalit Kumar Gupta and representatives of Telangana Cotton Association and Telangana Ginning Mills Association on Monday. They deliberated on contentious issues and following an assurance from the CCI officials, the ginning mills’ owners and traders agreed to resume cotton procurement.

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There are around 318 ginning mills in Telangana, which commenced cotton procurement recently. Farmers have been complaining that they were being paid nearly Rs 1,000-1,500 less than the Minimum Support Price of Rs 7,521 per quintal cotton which is considered as one of the finest quality.

However, the ginning mills’ owners held the CCI responsible, stating that the Corporation officials agreed to pay Rs 1,345 per cotton bale against Rs 1,495 demanding by the former for ginning. But later the CCI authorities reportedly offered to pay a lesser price, citing presence of excess moisture content than the permitted 12 per cent. They also started stringent implementation of regulations by categorising the ginning mills into L-1, L-2, and L-3, allowing them to procure paddy only in a phased manner.

As the situation spiralled out of control, Telangana Cotton Association and Telangana Ginning Mills Association stopped cotton purchases across the State, putting the lives of cotton farmers in jeopardy. Scores of farmers who arrived at procurement centres with their cotton produce on Monday morning, were shocked to find that the purchases have been stopped. In many parts of the State, they staged protests. To prevent the situation from escalating any further, the State government held a meeting and mediated between the CCI and the ginning mills’ owners to resolve the issue.