–Announces Rs 10K per acre relief for crop loss
-State government won’t send any report to the Centre on crop damage
-‘Illiterate fools are in power at the Centre. No point
in telling them about our issues’
-Why should we beg them when our economy is good?
-Under the policies of the present government at the Centre, affected farmers would get no compensation
NAVEENA GHANATE
Hyderabad
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday announced a compensation of Rs 10,000 per acre for farmers who had lost their crops in the recent unseasonal rains and hailstorms.
After a visit to the affected areas in the districts of Khammam, Mahbubabad, and Warangal, the Chief Minister assured distressed farmers that the government would extend them all assistance.
The Telangana government would not send any report to the Centre on crop damage caused by the recent unseasonal rains in view of the Central government’s unhelpful attitude towards such reports sent previously, KCR said.
Speaking to reporters in Khammam district, the Chief Minister alleged that the present policies of the Centre were not helpful to farmers in times of crop losses and that they benefited insurance companies instead.
“Illiterate fools are in power at the Centre. No point in telling them about our issues. In the past we sent reports 2-3 times for relief, but they never gave anything, including for Hyderabad floods. Why should we beg them when our economy is good?
KCR also pointed out that Telangana’s per capita income was higher those of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and other states. He claimed that Telangana had established itself as an agriculture-based state.
The Chief Minister told the media that the unexpected rains and hailstorms damaged crops on 2,28,255 acres. This includes maize over 1,29,446 acres, paddy over 72,709 acres, and mangoes over 8,865 acres. A GO was released soon after the announcement by CM’s Secretary Rahul Bojja, which read: “As a one-time measure, a relief of Rs 10,000 per acre shall be provided to farmers, including tenant farmers. The SDRF component as per NDMA norms shall be used from SDRF funds and the remainder shall be provided from state funds.”
KCR, who left in a helicopter from Hyderabad, first visited Madhira constituency in Khammam district. He spoke to farmers and enquired about the crop losses they suffered. Some of the affected farmers demand compensation of Rs 50,000 per acre.
KCR said that his government had been executing irrigation projects. Efforts were being made to expeditiously completenew projects. Stating that the state government was also implementing various schemes for the welfare of farmers, he claimed that such schemes were not being implemented anywhere in the world.
The Chief Minister also said that due to the schemes being implemented by the state government, the agriculture sector had strengthened and farmers were coming out of debt trap. He remarked that some ignorant economists were saying that agriculture was uneconomical.
The Chief Minister said under the policies of the present government at the Centre, affected farmers would get no compensation. The NDA government’s attitude was such that they were only interested in politics and not bothered about farmers, he said.
As per the Centre’s rules, the compensation given to farmers was inadequate, he said. The amount was just over Rs 3,000 per acre for maize and Rs 5,400 for paddy. KCR said the government would provide relief also to tenant farmers who had suffered crop loss.
