Farmers should take up crop diversification, says CM at State Formation Day celebrations

A. Revanth Reddy highlighted crop diversification, large-scale paddy procurement, and agricultural expansion during Telangana State Formation Day. He also outlined plans to complete irrigation projects and pledged to transform Telangana into a multi-trillion-dollar economy by 2047

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy stressed on the need for crop diversification and wanted farmers to cultivate new crops to transform Telangana into a land of diverse and abundant harvests.

During this Rabi season, the State government procured 63.65 lakh metric tons of paddy and deposited Rs.11,903 crores directly into farmers’ accounts. This apart, nearly 10,000 metric tons of soaked paddy was procured to rescue farmers from losses due to unseasonal rains, he said.

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Addressing at the State Formation Day celebrations here on Tuesday, the Chief Minister said the cultivation of sorghum (Jonna) and maize crops in the State also witnessed an unprecedented surge.

Telangana farmers created a new record by cultivating maize approximately in 16 lakh acres and sorghum across 4 lakh acres during this Yasangi season. The government bore an expenditure of nearly Rs. 4,275 crores for procurement of maize and so far and Rs. 1,154 crores for procurement of sorghum, he said.

The Chief Minister said several projects, including those undertaken by the Congress government under the Jalayagnam initiative in 2004 and a few launched in 2014-15 remained incomplete.

The government was working with determination to complete the pending projects by undertaking the necessary land acquisition. Efforts were on to revive the Pranahita-Chevella project, he said.

“I recently wrote a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister on Tummidihatti barrage. Following discussions, we will formulate and implement an action plan to construct the Tummidihatti Barrage,” Revanth Reddy stressed.

The Chief Minister briefed about a few initiatives taken up by the State government. A law has been designed to guarantee social security for the elderly and enacted legislation to ensure accountability regarding the maintenance of parents, bringing not only government employees but also elected public representatives under its purview, he stated.

Similarly about four lakh gig workers were currently employed in the State. Until now, their jobs and their livelihoods lacked any form of security and the Telangana government enacted a law specifically to ensure their job security, he said.

To recognize the services of those who fought for separate Telangana and ensure their families receive due justice, the government constituted a Committee under the leadership of K Keshava Rao and Prof Kodandaram.

“Based on the Committee report, we will appropriately honour all the freedom fighters of Telangana,” he said.

In view of the scorching heat, the Chief Minister presented his address in brief. He said all the details to be shared by the government were incorporated in the booklet distributed to the people.

Before concluding his speech, the Chief Minister stated that the State government was aiming to transform Telangana into a one-trillion USD economy by 2034, and a three trillion USD economy by 2047.

“To realize this, we are seeking the unwavering support of the people and their cooperation and blessings,” Revanth Reddy said.