Hyderabad: Agriculture Minister Niranjan Reddy criticized the Centre for not doing anything to help farmers in the state. He responded to questions raised by MLCs T Jeevan Reddy and Seri Subhash Reddy in the State Legislative Council regarding the crop insurance scheme and increased agriculture area in the state.
Reddy alleged that the Central government did not purchase food grains from the state as part of their political agenda. He also mentioned that even after a day-long fast by the entire state cabinet, including the Chief Minister KCR, the Central government did not show any signs of relenting.
The Minister stated that the Central government claimed to have enough stocks for three years, but they stopped exporting rice within six months of making that statement, citing a shortage of rice.
He criticized the Centre for lacking a policy on agriculture, which is a crucial sector for the majority of the country. Reddy emphasized that the Centre does not seem concerned about crop cultivation and the needs of the people. He also mentioned that in the event of a natural disaster, the Centre did not provide any financial assistance to farmers who lost their crops. Reddy expressed his disappointment with the Centre’s response to Hyderabad’s recent losses due to heavy rains.
Regarding the PM FasalBhima Yojana crop insurance scheme, Reddy claimed that states like Gujarat, Bihar, and West Bengal, which are the home states of the Prime Minister, are not implementing the Pradhan Mantri FasalBima Yojana. He highlighted that Telangana has implemented the Fasal Bhima Yojana for four years. Reddy stated that farmers only received compensation of Rs 1893 crores, while they paid a premium of Rs 2415 crores to insurance companies, resulting in a benefit of Rs 522 crores for the companies. He urged the Centre to take initiative in implementing an insurance scheme for the agriculture sector and called for a national debate on the matter.
