Aakumarru (Krishna district): YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday criticised the ruling coalition government that it has failed to protect farmers affected by recent cyclones and weakened the state’s farmer welfare framework. He urged the government to immediately clear pending crop insurance claims and warned that the YSRCP would launch protests if the demand was not met.

After visiting cyclone-hit fields and interacting with farmers, Jagan said that many cultivators had suffered extensive crop loss but were yet to receive compensation.

He blamed Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for discontinuing the earlier crop insurance scheme, claiming this has left lakhs of farmers without support. He demanded payment of pending arrears, including Rs 600 crore, and urged the government to bear the premium for the upcoming Rabi season.

He alleged that the enumeration of crop damage was rushed and inaccurate, with officials asked to finish the process in a single day, leading to underreporting of losses. According to him, farmers in several districts complained that no official had inspected their fields. He also claimed that those who applied for insurance were being discouraged by restricting paddy procurement.

Jagan accused the government of failing to provide timely help despite multiple natural calamities in the last 18 months. He said promises of an input subsidy of Rs 20,000 per farmer were not fulfilled. He contrasted this with the YSRCP’s previous term, stating that input subsidies, crop insurance payments, and Minimum Support Price guarantees were delivered promptly.

He also alleged irregularities in crop loss data, citing discrepancies in e-cropping records, and demanded immediate full compensation for all affected farmers.