Lok Sabha candidates woo subabul, eucalyptus growers, promise fair MSP

Khammam: The subabul and eucalyptus growers, who are around 40,000, are likely to influence the outcome of election results in the Khammam Parliamentary constituency. Around 40,000 farmers are cultivating subabul and eucalyptus spread over 1.2 lakh acres in the seven Assembly segments of the Khammam Lok Sabha constituency. With their family members included, they account for around 1.5 lakh votes of the 15.13 lakh in the entire Parliament constituency. With this, all the contesting candidates have realised the importance of the issue and are trying to woo to formers by offering them support price and purchase security.

The delay in the purchase of wood and the slash in wood prices have infuriated the farmers, who are protesting for minimum price and purchase security for over a week now. Recently, the farmers protested in front of the Khammam ITC office by locking up the office. Similarly, the farmers planned a protest by submitting a massive number of nominations for the Khammam Parliamentary constituency. However, they backed down from the idea after meeting with the district representatives.

The ITC-BPL and Sirpur-Kagaznagar are the primary consumers of the crop. Eucalyptus and subabul cultivation in the erstwhile district has grown heavily since 2013-14 due to ITC and other industries promoting its cultivation. At present, 40,000 farmers are cultivating the crop over an area of 1.20 lakh acres. In 2014, the ITC acquired approximately 100 lorries load per day by paying Rs 4,200 per tonne of Subabul and Rs 5,000 per tonne of eucalyptus sticks.

At the same time, the ITC lobbied the Telangana State Forest Development Corporation (TSFDC) to raise eucalyptus on the barren lands in the reserve forests under the scheme of Haritha Haram. With this, the TSFDC cultivated eucalyptus across thousands of acres in Telangana State. As the crop matured, they sold the product to ITC.

With the crop cultivated under Haritha Haram scheme competing with the already increased farm production in the district, the supply exceeded the demand thereby dragging the price of the crop to all time low. The ITC, on the other hand, is also rumored to be purchasing the pulp from a paper industry at a cheaper price and it no longer finds the need to purchase the crop that was promoted to grow.

Farmers alleged that ITC paper industry had reduced the purchasing price of subabul to around 3,000 to 3,500 and the price of eucalyptus to around 3,500 to 4,000 per ton. Farmers also allege that ITC didn't increase the quantity of purchase on par with the increased production in the district. They demanded the ITC to pay 7,000 per tonne for subabul as they previously promised.

Public limited companies like ITC, which are now acting like corporate entities with only short term profits in mind, threw the lives of poor hard working farmers into turmoil. Political leaders are trying to turn the situation to their advantage by promising minimum support price to growers, a farmer felt.

The farmers have urged the politicians and the parties to not to see this as an opportunity to gain votes and keep their promise once they come to power.