Minister for Irrigation P. Anil Kumar has asserted that the government is committed to farmers’ welfare and that ₹125 crore has been released towards procurement of 90,000 tonnes of paddy.
Addressing the media here on Tuesday, the Minister said the government would support the farmers in all aspects and also take care of crop procurement.
Stating that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had taken special interest in crop procurement, brought a market-intervention fund of ₹3,000 crore and established Rythu Bharosa Centres, he said the government also arranged 180 crop procurement centres in Nellore district to avoid losses for the farmers due to rains.
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He said the government would purchase every single grain, irrespective of the moisture percentage.
Dig at Naidu
The Minister criticised TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu for making false accusations that the government had abandoned the farmers.
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“The opposition leaders have no moral right to speak on farmers’ issues. Mr. Naidu never thought about farmers during his five-year term and had left them in the lurch,” the Minister said.
Mr. Naidu had diverted ₹4,000 crore funds of the Civil Supplies Corporation meant for paddy procurement to the Pasupu-Kumkuma scheme ahead of the elections, the Minister alleged.
Insider trading
On the alleged insider trading in Amaravati lands, the Minister said the sub-committee, after looking into each and every aspect in detail, found that insider trading had taken place. The Minister dared Mr. Naidu and his son Lokesh to prove their innocence by deposing before the CBI voluntarily.