‘Telangana purchased 5.06 cr tonnes paddy in last 7 years’

Hyderabad: The Telangana State Civil Supplies Corporation has procured 5.06 crore tonnes of paddy worth Rs 88,000 crore in the last seven years, which is a record of the sorts at the national level. No other State could achieve the feat in the country. In a statement issued here on Friday, Corporation chairman Mareddy Srinivas […]

Hyderabad: The Telangana State Civil Supplies Corporation has procured 5.06 crore tonnes of paddy worth Rs 88,000 crore in the last seven years, which is a record of the sorts at the national level. No other State could achieve the feat in the country.

In a statement issued here on Friday, Corporation chairman Mareddy Srinivas Reddy blamed the delay in paddy purchases on the Centre’s fresh norms and urged the Union government to revise them at the earliest.

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According to Srinivas Reddy, the State government had procured 24.29 lakh tonnes in 2014-15, 23.56 lakh tonnes in 2015-16, 35.7 lakh tonnes in 2016-17, 53.99 lakh tonnes in 2017-18, 77.46 lakh tonnes in 2018-19, 1.11 crore tonnes in 2019-20 and 1.41 crore tonnes in 2020-21. “During the ongoing monsoon season, we have purchased 19 lakh tonnes through 5,703 procurement centres so far. Despite the financial burden on the State exchequer, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had ordered us to procure paddy from farmers to ensure that they do not suffer losses during the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said, adding that no other State had purchased paddy in such large quantities.

He expressed displeasure over the restrictions imposed by the Central government. He urged the authorities concerned to consider the achievements of Telangana farmers and extend cooperation to them by reviewing its previous decision on paddy procurement. He alleged that at a time when Telangana farmers were producing large quantities of paddy, the Centre was imposing new restrictions.

The Corporation chairman cited unseasonal rains and also the Centre’s fresh norms for delay in paddy purchases in the State. “If the Centre can relax certain norms like moisture per cent and wastage, the purchases can be expedited and more farmers can benefit,” he said. He stated that as against 17 lakh tonnes procured as of November 25 last year, around 19 lakh tonnes were purchased as of date this year. He reiterated that the State government will purchase the entire paddy crop for the ongoing Vaanakalam season and urged farmers not to worry.

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