Amidst the verbal confrontations of TRS and BJP leaders and street fights of their cadres over paddy procurement from Telangana, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to complete the central procurement immediately and also fix annual targets.
Following the Huzurabad bypoll which has favored the BJP, the political heat has further escalated in the state over the issue of procurement of the main food crop grown in the state.
In a letter to Modi on Wednesday, Rao stated that the Food Corporation of India policies are creating confusion in the minds of the farmers and the state government.
“Target procurement is not fixed for the entire year in one go and even though the production is increasing every year, the procurement is not keeping pace. Due to this, it is becoming difficult for the states to plan an appropriate cropping pattern and explain the same to the farmers,” Rao said.
The CM complained that when the Kharif 2021 rice output from Telangana was 55.75 lakh metric tonnes, the procurement was only 32.66 LMT i.e., 59 per cent. “This was less than the 78 per cent procurement in Kharif 2019-20. Such wide variations do not allow the state to implement a rational cropping pattern.”
Rao rued that despite him meeting union minister for food and public distribution Piyush Goyal in September and appealing to do so, “no decision is taken on fixing the annual target for procurement.”
In his letter, the CM asked the PM to direct the FCI to “complete the balance procurement of 5 LMT rice of Rabi 2020-21 season and also enhance the target beyond 40 LMT for rice procurement during the ongoing Kharif 2020-21 to 90 per cent of production as done in Punjab.”
Rao also sought for early action fixing the procurement target of rice from Telangana for the ensuing Rabi.
The ruling TRS had organised protests across the state on Friday demanding the Modi government to procure the paddy grown in Telangana. Rao had earlier even advised farmers against sowing paddy in Rabi.
Rao has called for another round of protests on Thursday to deplore the BJP led government over the issue.
The Telangana BJP is countering the TRS claims stating that Rao “is blaming the Centre, while delaying the procurement process.” The opposition party leaders have accused the CM of withholding paddy procurement for political gains, “when the FCI and the state have entered an agreement for procurement of six million tonnes of paddy .”
A tour taken up by state BJP chief Bandi Sanjay visiting farmers and yards in Nalgonda region turned violent on Tuesday as the TRS men allegedly attacked the BJP activists and damaged their vehicles.
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