Rythu Sangham leader calls for reforms in agriculture sector

Mahbubnagar: Despite of the fact that the State government has launched various welfare schemes and development programmes for the farming community, Parsha Padma, General secretary of Rythu Sangham, Telangana State, expressing her concern stated that State has witnessing rising cases of farmers suicides in the last four years ever since the formation of separate Telangana State. 

Speaking at a meeting in the district CPI party office on Wednesday, a Padma said there was a need for the State and Central governments to come out with revolutionary reforms in the agriculture sector to rescue the debt-ridden and financially bankrupt farmers in Mahbubnagar district. 
“It was thought that after formation of new State, the fate of farmers would be changed.

However, what we are witnessing today is State government just doing publicity by announcing huge sums of amounts in the budget to irrigation and various schemes and development activities for the Irrigation and Agriculture departments. But when it comes to implementation of these schemes and development programmes, the State government has miserably failed.

Because, the government is not able to spend the allocated amount for the projects, due to which the pending projects of Koilsagar, KLI and PRRLI are all going on a snail’s pace and the claims of the State government of providing water to 10 lakh acres has just become a rhetoric as it has not even given water to 3 lakh acres,” said Parsha Padma. 

Paramesh Goud, CPI Mahbubnagar district secretary said that the State government was just fooling the people by announcing big budgetary allocations, but it was not spending what it was allocating to the projects and various welfare and development schemes. 

“The Government is claiming tall regarding the implementation of Rythu Bhandu scheme, but Rs 4,000 per acre given to famers is not sufficient. We are demanding the government to immediately come out with new reforms and implement the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission  report and provide adequate Minimum Support Price and in addition to 50 per cent extra bonus to the farmers on the MSP. Only such a comprehensive and complete financial aid to the farmers can only rescue them from the vicious circle of debts,” said Paramesh Goud. 

The CPI secretary along with other members of the party have decided to visit all the projects sites soon to secure the the facts and figures of the projects and would bring out a detailed report by studying the details of the project completion report and the status of the current project works in the district. 

The experts from the Rythu Sangham observed that the government must speed up completion of all pending irrigation projects in the district and should bring new reforms in the agriculture sector so as to help farmers from all respects.