Telangana transformed into agrarian State: Governor
Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan reiterated that the State government has no other priority sector than agriculture and there is no other important person other than the farmer
Hyderabad: Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Monday said that Telangana, which was once considered as a permanent address for famine and drought, has now transformed into an agrarian State. She reiterated that the State government has no other priority sector than agriculture and there is no other important person other than the farmer. She asserted that the State government’s commitment for development of agriculture sector would continue further with the same dedication.
Addressing the joint session of the State Legislature here, the Governor said the agriculture sector is considered as precious as life and the State government believes that Telangana’s livelihood lies in agriculture. She said the State government initiated several measures to pull out the sector from crisis and instill confidence among farmers. “Irrigation facility has been boosted. Power supply has been improved remarkably. Quality seeds and fertiliser are supplied on time. Subsidies on agriculture tools to encourage mechanisation and more micro irrigation methods are being undertaken,” she said.
The State government has been providing Rs 10,000 per acre for two crops as investment subsidy for farmers under Rythu Bandhu scheme as well as providing life insurance cover of Rs five lakh to farmers under Rythu Bima. Both Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bima policies which won acclaim at the United Nations, have become model for the entire country as the most ideal and needed policies. With the support provided by the State government, the crop cultivation area has increased from 1.41 crore acres in 2013-14 to 2.1 crore acres in 2020-21 per year in the State. Similarly, the annual crop production has increased from 2.05 crore tonnes to 4.11 crore tonnes per year during the same period.
Paddy cultivation too has grown from 34.97 lakh acres in 2013-14, to 1.04 crore acres in 2020-21 financial year. Accordingly, the State government has increased paddy procurement from 24.3 lakh tonnes to 1.11 crore tonnes over the last seven years. Telangana supplied 64 lakh tonnes of total 1.15 crore tonnes paddy procured by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) during last summer. In terms of cotton crop as well, the State has achieved tremendous progress with an increase in cultivation area from 41.83 lakh acres in 2013-14 to 60.54 lakh acres in 2020-21. The State has emerged as the second largest cotton cultivator in the country, with production of about 37.62 lakh tonnes per annum.
Further, the State government also improved the storage and marketing facilities in accordance with the growing yield. The godown capacity has been increased from 4.17 lakh tonnes to 24.73 lakh tonnes, and the markets have been increased from 150 to 192. The State government is also administering the marketing system in such way that the crops cultivated by farmers are sold in a regulated manner.
Dharani- a revolutionary reform
To put an end to the utter confusion and lack of clarity on the land ownership rights, the State government has brought in the new Revenue Act and launched the Dharani portal with complete information on the agricultural lands in the State. The farmer-friendly portal has been a path-breaking initiative in terms of land records management including registration and mutation of agricultural lands.
It removed discretionary powers of officials, simplified processes, eliminated corruption and has brought in transparency, enabling the land owners to access the details of their land through Dharani portal from anywhere in the world. Thus, the State government could clear about 95 per cent of the land records and ensured Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bima schemes to nearly 60 lakh farmers in the State.
In less than five months from the date of its launch, more than 3.29 lakh transactions including 1.06 lakh pending claims for mutation of records have been completed using Dharani portal. The government has also decided to take up digital survey all over the State to remove any litigation with regards to the land boundaries using geographical coordinates (latitude and longitudes).
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