Minister for Agriculture and Civil Supplies S. Niranjan Reddy has stated that investment support to the landholding farmers under Rythu Bandhu scheme, at ₹5,000 per acre per crop season, has already been disbursed to 51 lakh farmers this season and the remaining farmers would get it soon.
Speaking after releasing “Rythu Margadarshi’ book on agricultural tools, implements and machinery published by Telangana State Agro Industries Development Corporation (TS-Agros) here on Monday, he stated that about 60% of the State’s population was still depending on agriculture sector and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had introduced innovative schemes like Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bima to help them.
The government was also focusing on improving farm mechanisation in the State to reduce expenditure on agriculture and to improve the farmers’ income. The book brought by Agros would be a guide to farmers on the utility of various farm equipment and related information, the Minister noted.
Targeting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) working president J.P. Nadda and other leaders of the party for criticising the State government schemes, Mr. Reddy said officials from several Central government agencies had been complimenting Kaleshwaram project, Mission Kakatiya, Mission Bhagiratha, Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bima and several other schemes. Even Mr. Nadda himself had complimented the State government schemes in the past but was speaking in a different tongue now, he pointed out.
Reduce costs
He sought to know whether any BJP State government in the country had constructed an irrigation project in three years time to give water to 5-6 lakh acres land. He criticised the Centre for neglecting the plea from different State to link the employment guarantee scheme to agriculture to reduce costs of farming. Chairman of TS-Agros Lingampally Kishan Rao stated that they would conduct district-wise awareness meeting on the farm tool, implements and machinery for the benefit of farmers with focus on the need to increase farm mechanisation and distribute books. Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Agros M. Surender and others also spoke.
Plea for urea
Minister for Agriculture S. Nirajan Reddy has requested the Centre to release the allotted quota of 1.4 lakh tonnes of urea to Telangana for August by adjusting the stocks from other States as the demand was going up in the State following recent rains and availability of water in projects. In a letter addressed to Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Monday, he explained that entire quota allotted to Telangana for the month was yet to arrive from overseas although the demand for the plant nutrition supplement was going up for paddy, maize and groundnut crops.
