Hyderabad: With the record-breaking increase in agriculture produce in Telangana, the State government is seriously working towards increasing the storage capacity from the existing 24 lakh tonnes to 64 lakh tonnes in government godowns alone. This translates into a mind-boggling 16-fold increase from the mere four lakh tonne storage capacity at the time of State formation in 2014.
The Marketing Department has already submitted proposals to the State government in this regard. Currently, godowns with storage space of 5.2 lakh tonnes are under construction in various parts of the State. Of this, the Marketing Department has taken up construction of warehouses with a total capacity of about 3 lakh tonnes and godowns with another 2.42 lakh tonnes capacity are being constructed by the Telangana State Warehousing Corporation.
In addition, private companies and individuals have also taken up construction of warehouses that would add another 4.5 lakh tonnes storage capacity. At present, the total godown space available in Telangana State is 63 lakh tonnes including 39 lakh tonnes of private godowns.
“There is a severe shortage of godown space in the State since most of the godowns are filled to capacity and are unlikely to be vacated before the arrival of the Vaanakalam yield. The Marketing Department has been instructed to clear the available stocks of paddy and cotton at the earliest to provide enough space for the Vaanakalam produce,” an official from the Agriculture Department told ‘Telangana Today’.
In tune with the rising demand, the Marketing Department has submitted proposals to increase godown space by at least 40 lakh tonnes. The officials have already identified the required land in some districts and submitted a report to the government in this regard, along with the budget estimates.
Though the construction of some godowns was scheduled to begin in 2020-21, it got delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Marketing Department is planning to invite interested persons to establish high-capacity godowns by offering subsidies in construction cost and a decision in this regard will be taken after getting the nod from Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao.
Due to increased irrigation facilities, the financial support provided to farmers by the State government under Rythu Bandhu and benefits from other schemes, the area under cultivation crossed the one crore acre mark in the State last year. Further, the government is keen on adding 15-20 lakh acres of fresh ayacut per year for the next few years with the completion of canal networks under various projects including Kaleshwaram and Palamuru Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Schemes. Paddy cultivation in the State during Yasangi season also shot up from 12.23 lakh acres in 2014 to 52.28 lakh acres in 2021. With increasing yields year on year, the demand for godown space has also increased significantly.
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