Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has said that a relief of ₹10,000 per acre would be provided to the farmers, who had suffered crop damages due to the unseasonal rains and hailstorms in Khammam district and elsewhere in the State over the last few days.
He was addressing a press conference after making an on-the-spot assessment of the crop damage at Garlapadu and Ramapuram villages in Bonakal mandal of Khammam district this morning.
He interacted with the rain-hit maize growers and assured them of all possible help to tide over the situation.
Speaking to mediapersons, the Chief Minister said paddy, maize, mango and other crops in about 2.28 lakh acres were damaged by the untimely rains accompanied by hailstorm in various parts of the State last week.
The pro-farmer BRS government will stand by the rain-hit farmers to help them face the situation boldly and bounce back with resilience, he said adding that orders will be issued immediately to disburse ₹228 crore for disbursement of relief to the rain-hit farmers in the State. As a special case, the relief will be extended to the tenant farmers, who constituted a major chunk of the rain-hit farmers in Madhira constituency, he added.
Terming the BJP government at the Centre as an “anti-farmer” regime, Mr. Rao alleged that the Centre turned a deaf ear to the request for financial assistance to the rain-hit farmers last year. As a mark of protest, we have decided not to write to the apathetic Centre this time.
The State government will provide succour to the rain-hit farmers and mitigate their problems, he asserted saying the BRS government was committed to maintain the tempo of farmers to continue with their production endeavour, well-supported by the Telangana government’s landmark ‘farmer-centric’ schemes.
Agriculture sector contributed immensely to the vigorous economic growth of Telangana in terms of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), he noted exuding confidence that Telangana will continue to remain in the forefront in agricultural productivity and output in the country.
Alleging that the BJP dispensation at the Centre was solely focusing on divisive politics, he said the country needs a new integrated agricultural policy to tackle the situations arising out of natural calamities and provide relief to the affected farmers.
Transport Minister P. Ajay Kumar, CPI (M) State secretary Tammineni Veerabhadram, CPI State secretary K. Sambasiva Rao and others accompanied the Chief Minister to the rain-hit areas in Bonakal mandal.
Later, the Chief Minister left for the rain-affected areas in Mahabubabad district by a helicopter. He is scheduled to visit Adavi Rangapuram in Warangal district and Lakshmipuram in Karimnagar district to assess the crop damage this afternoon.
