Farmer wing of the YSR Congress Party has alleged that the State government is not interested in keeping promises it made to farmers who suffered extensive loss under the impact of ‘Nilam’ cyclone.
Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, farmer wing convener M.V.S. Nagi Reddy said Ministers had announced that compensation would be paid to every farmer who suffered losses. They even promised that input subsidy would be paid to them. But, behind the curtains, they advised officials to keep figures pertaining to crop losses low. Otherwise, the demand for input subsidy would shoot up. The officials were not recording actual losses following pressure from higher-ups, he said, and added that there was bias in crop loss estimates.
The YSR Congress had been urging the government to do justice to the farmers. Farmers should be paid Rs. 10,000 per acre as compensation duly following the Hooda Committee recommendations. Seed for rabi crop should also be supplied at a subsidy of 75 per cent. The government should also purchase paddy and cotton that was damaged in rains. The government should also release water for rabi crop for mandals in the coastal areas. Farmers lost kharif this year. They were not allowed to cultivate rabi last year, Mr. Nagi Reddy recalled, adding the government should do justice to the farmers.
