Harish Rao visits paddy procurement centre, slams govt for delays

Former minister and MLA T. Harish Rao inspected the paddy procurement centre at Mallaram village in Chinnakodur mandal and criticised the Congress government for what he called its “complete negligence” towards farmers across Telangana.

Harish Rao said the government had promised to procure 85 lakh metric tonnes of paddy this season but had purchased only about 5-6 lakh metric tonnes so far. Even for the grain that was already procured, bills were still pending, he alleged. According to him, nearly ₹1,200 crore in MSP dues and around ₹200 crore in last season’s bonus payments were yet to be released.

He reminded that the government had earlier assured bonus payment within 24 hours, “but not a single rupee has been paid till now.” Harish Rao demanded immediate release of both last season’s and the current kharif bonus amounts. He said farmers were waiting for days in the cold at procurement centres and urged the government to speed up the process by tying up mills without delay.

Concerns over maize and cotton procurement

Harish Rao said maize farmers were also suffering due to slow purchases, despite maize being cultivated on nearly 6 lakh acres across the state. He accused the Chief Minister of ignoring maize procurement and asked the government to clear payments to those whose produce had already been bought.

He added that cotton farmers were in an even worse situation. Alleging apathy from the Union government, he said restricting purchase to only 7 quintals per acre was unfair when many farmers were harvesting 11-12 quintals. Poor procurement by ginning mills and the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), he claimed, had pushed several farmers into debt and distress.

Criticism of farmer welfare schemes

Harish Rao further criticised the state government’s handling of farmer-welfare schemes, stating that Rythu Bandhu was not given for two seasons, bonus was withheld, crop insurance was not implemented, and loan waiver reached only half the eligible farmers.

He said farmers who lost crops due to hailstorms last season and the recent cyclones this year received no compensation. Proper crop insurance, he added, could have protected them from financial loss.

Harish Rao demanded immediate release of input subsidy for all farmers who suffered crop damage across Telangana.