The Congress on Wednesday accused the Telugu Desam Party, its leaders and District Collector Kona Sasidhar of joining hands to waste Rs. 300 crore in the name of wetting red gram crop using rain guns.
Speaking at the district Congress office here, Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) spokesman M.V. Ramana said: “The Chief Minister during his visit to the district claimed that four lakh acres were irrigated using rain guns and he had won the war against drought, while his Ministers accepted that the crop had indeed dried up in spite of the effort. The entire exercise was futile because of the fact that the district had very limited water resources.”
Mr. Ramana further alleged that TDP leaders in the villages had benefited by the programme by misappropriating the pipes and other material given to them as part of the programme.
“Now the District Collector is saying that the government will be spending Rs. 300 crore to save red gram crop in the district,” said Mr. Ramana.
DCC president Kota Satyam said that it would be prudent of the government to deposit the amount in the accounts of the farmers who have not been given input subsidy till now despite several assurances.
