Telangana once barren land, turns into rice bowl of nation

♦ The once barren lands are now full of water and lush with green crops

♦ Golden era in agriculture sector of TS began with KCR becoming the CM

♦ Rs 5,249 crore spent under Mission Kakatiya to restore the lakes of the Kakatiya era

♦ Cultivation area in 2014 was 31L acres

♦ Will increase to 2.20 lakh acres by 2022-23

♦ Grain production in 2014-15 was 68 lakh tones

♦ By 2022-23 it reached 2.70 crore tonnes

Hyderabad: Once the barren lands of Telangana have turned fertile with pro-farmer initiatives of the government led by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. Now the State has turned into ‘Annapurna’ for the country.

According to officials, the golden era began with agricultural policies like welfare of farmers, irrigation facilities and procurement of food grains. The once barren lands are now full of water and lush with green crops.

A leader of the separatist movement and a farmer himself, with KCR becoming the CM, the golden era in the agriculture sector of Telangana began. With the understanding of the discrimination and hardships of Telangana farmers under the undivided Andhra Pradesh rule, it was believed that the only solution for revival of the agriculture sector was to provide irrigation facilities for full utilisation of the Godavari and Krishna waters allocated to Telangana. Construction of huge irrigation projects was undertaken spending Rs 1.59 lakh crore in nine years.

The Kaleshwaram project was completed in a record time and Rs 5,249 crore was spent under the Mission Kakatiya to restore the lakes of the Kakatiya era. With attention shown by the government, the area under cultivation was 31 lakh acres in 2014; it will increase to 2.20 lakh acres by 2022-23. The grain production in 2014-15 was only 68 lakh tonnes, but by 2022-23 it reached a record level of 2.70 crore tonnes.

The officials said the government was bearing RS 10,500 crore every year to provide free power to farmers. It has also spent Rs 65,190 crore to provide financial assistance of Rs10,000 per acre to farmers under the Rythu Bandhu during the last 10 installments. The government waived loans worth Rs 17,35,147 crore in two installments. Similarly, compensation of Rs 5,40,255 crore under the Rythu Bheema was also provided to farmers.