Government left paddy farmers in lurch: Harish Rao

T Harish Rao said on Wednesday that the Civil Supplies Corporation had failed not only in facilitating timely procurement of paddy but even in ensuring timely payment for the paddy procured.

Nalgonda: Holding the State government squarely responsible for the plight of paddy farmers in the State, BRS leader and former Minister T Harish Rao said on Wednesday that the Civil Supplies Corporation had failed not only in facilitating timely procurement of paddy but even in ensuring timely payment for the paddy procured.

Interacting with farmers at the paddy procurement centres in Munugode constituency in Nalgonda district, he said the proactive role played during the BRS regime by the government agencies in ensuring the minimum support price operations was missing in the Congress government. The farmers were left with limited options in selling their produce.

---

Highlighting the big increase in paddy cultivation in Nalgonda district this year, which rose to 5.5 lakh acres from 4 lakh acres last year, he said despite a bumper harvest, the government planned to procure only 7.5 metric tons of paddy. Meeting even that target now seems challenging to meet. Farmers were left with no choice but to sell their produce to middlemen at prices as low as Rs 1,800 per quintal.

“The government’s delayed response has left farmers in a tough position,” Rao stated. “Procurement centers were not set up in time, and there’s been a shortage of gunny bags. Farmers are forced to sell to brokers at lower rates, unable to secure a fair price for their crops.” Rao also questioned the Chief Minister’s claims during a recent campaign in Maharashtra that the Congress government here was offering a Rs.500 bonus for all varieties of paddy.

“I ask Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, will you be able to say the same before the farmers in Telangana? ”

In Nalgonda alone, farmers are awaiting payment for approximately 9,000 metric tons of procured paddy, valued at around Rs 200 crore, of which only Rs 50 crore has been paid. Rao noted that the delay has placed farmers under financial pressure, with some even staging ‘rasta rokos’ in Miryalaguda to demand a remunerative price.

Quoting farmers in Jagtial with whom he interacted recently, he said they were not able to sell even a kilogram of fine rice. “The situation is similar in Nalgonda district, where the government hasn’t procured any fine rice,” he said. “The government has completely failed to establish a system to buy these finer varieties, leaving farmers unsupported.”