Warangal: Farmer-friendly schemes made TS a role model says S Niranjan Reddy

Warangal : No other State in the country was giving high priority to agriculture as much as Telangana, Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy said. Inaugurating a 10,000 MT godown at Chalaparthi village under Duggondi mandal in Warangal district on Friday, he said that Telangana government spent a whopping Rs 4.50 lakh crore on agriculture sector in the last nine years.

Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bima have become popular at the international level, Reddy said, referring to the distribution of Rs 65,000 crore and Rs 5,000 crore under both the schemes respectively. He also claimed credit for spending Rs 1.59 lakh crore to ensure irrigation facilities in the State.

“The total godown space available in Telangana region is 74 lakh tonnes. It was just 36 lakh tonnes before the State bifurcation. We have a target of scaling up godown capacity to one crore tonnes in the near future,” Reddy said. He said that the government has plans to promote farm mechanization. Land prices have gone up multifold in the rural part of Telangana due to the efforts of the government, and the credit goes to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, Reddy said.

Minister for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Errabelli Dayakar Rao claimed credit for providing a compensation of Rs 10,000 per acre to the farmers who lost their crops due to untimely rains and hailstorms. He said that no other State in the country was providing such a hefty compensation. The government sanctioned Rs 40 crore to rescue the rain-affected farmers in Narsampet constituency. Narsampet constituency has adequate godown space for the local farmers. The government allocated Rs 70 crore for road infrastructure in Narsampet constituency in Warangal district, Errabelli said.

In another programme, the ministers launched the distribution of compensation to the farmers. Narsampet MLA Peddi Sudarshan Reddy said that the government released Rs 37.50 crore as compensation to the farmers who lost their crops due to untimely rains and hailstorms in March. He said that crop loss occurred in 37,500 acres in Narsampet constituency. According to officials, untimely rains damaged crops in over 60,000 acres in Warangal district and the government had released Rs 61 crore. Warangal district collector P Pravinya and Telangana Warehouse Corporation chairman Saichand were among others present.