The central government that humiliated the Telangana government and farmers is now begging the state for paddy.
Union minister Piyush Goyal rebuked the TRS ministers as they asked the centre to procure parboiled rice from the state. He said let the Telangana people eat broken rice and refused to procure even grain.
The BJP government with its unsound policies now facing the food crisis. As per the statutes, the centre should keep enough stocks of food grains. Now the food grain had depleted and demand for paddy increased in the international market. Meanwhile the extent of paddy cultivation and harvest have come down across the country.
In this rainy season, paddy was sown in 403 lakh hectares across the country which is 20 lakh hectares more compared to last year. However, due to inclement weather, the production had come down drastically.
In the year 2021-2022, the country produced 11.2 crore tonnes in rainy season and now this year witnessed a reduction of 70 lakh tonnes. Now the central government woke up to reality and started worrying.
In Telangana state, in tgd year 2021-2022, the summer season crop was cultivated in 34.21 lakh acres and now this coming summer, there would be an increase of five lakh acres more, according to agriculture department officials.
This rainy season, the Telangana state expects a paddy production of 1.41 crore tonnes of which the state government decides to procure 90 lakh tonnes and had already procured 28 lakh tonnes.
While the country witnessed a paddy production of 11.2 crore tonnes in 2021-2022, the Telangana state registered a production of 1.07 crore tonnes in the rainy season.
The Telangana state expects increased cultivation and production of paddy in the ensuing summer season.
The central government came to such a situation that it had to beg the Telangana government for paddy procurement to increase the fast depleting food stocks in the country.
Meanwhile, the chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has announced good news to the miller’s. He said the state government will waive the central sales tax of two percent. They are all in an upbeat mood with a gift from CM KCR. It enormously benefits tge farmers of Telangana
By Gollapudi Srinivasa Rao