BJP MLAs urge Telangana CM for quick resolution on paddy procurement issues

PTI, May 18, 2024, 8:24 PM IST

Alleging that the delay in the paddy procurement process has caused a lot of hardship for the farmers, BJP MLAs in Telangana on Saturday urged Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to resolve the problems at the earliest and also pay Rs 500 bonus on Minimum Support Price (MSP) as promised by the ruling Congress.

The BJP MLAs met the chief minister at the Secretariat and submitted a memorandum to him with their demands.

Pointing out that the paddy procurement centres were started in the state 45 days ago, the BJP MLAs said the farmers had to wait for weeks together for their produce to be quantified in view of the scarcity of gunny bags, workers and also lorries.

While the harvested paddy is getting damaged due to unseasonal rains before it is transported to procurement centres, the paddy is also getting damaged at the centres as proper arrangements are not made to stock them, they alleged.

The paddy damaged due to rain is being rejected and millers are reducing the quantity, citing dampness, they said.

The farmers have protested in some places in the state over these problems and it is the failure of the state government, the MLAs charged.

The concerned officials and ministers have been indifferent to the farmers’ problems, they alleged.

The BJP MLAs, led by the party’s floor leader in Assembly Alleti Maheshwar Reddy, demanded that the chief minister resolve the farmers’ problems and also ensure payment of Rs 500 bonus on MSP.

They also sought the state government to implement its promises of Rs two lakh farm loan waiver, payment of Rs 15,000 per acre to farmers and tenant farmers and Rs 12,000 per annum to farm workers.