TS govt should purchase damaged paddy: Dattatreya

Addressing a press conference, here on Sunday, he said that the State which is having enough funds should initiate measures instead of looking for Food Corporation of India (FCI) to lift such stocks. Announcing the steps taken by Centre, to provide compensation to the crop losses caused due to natural calamities, besides providing seeds and fertilizers.

He urged state government to be proactive and should act as a bridge between the insurance companies and the farmers, to avail the crop insurance scheme. For this, the TS should widely publicise the benefits of crop insurance scheme in the State, he added.

Dattatreya said that under State’s Disaster Mitigation component about Rs 272 crore has been earmarked out of which Rs 205 crore would be released by the Centre.

He would also take up the issue with the ministries concerned for early release of these funds, and this would enable the State to take necessary steps provide relief to the farmers in distress. On farmer’s suicides, he said that while the TS government had submitted the total count of farmers suicides in the State stood at 92, on the other, unofficial accounts have put up the count around 400, he said. Saying that agriculture is a state subject, he said that the Center would take steps on the basis of report submitted by the States concerned on the damage caused.

However, he would take up the issue for early release of pending input subsidy for horticulture crops to the tune of Rs 33 crore, for the financial year 2012-13 to the Karimnagar and Nizamabad districts.

Brushing aside the allegations on reducing the quota of levy in the procurement of paddy and other agriculture produce through FCI by the Centre, he said that the opposition has been spreading a smear campaign against the NDA government for the mistakes of UPA.

Linking of rivers to augment drought in the country, 24 hour uninterrupted power supply were some of the initiatives take up by the centre for which the States should come forward, he said. BJP floor leader in TS Assembly Dr K Lakshman, State party president G Kishan Reddy and others were present.