Remaining Crop Loans To Be Waived Soon: Pocharam

Telangana agriculture minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy today said that the State government was mulling options on the demand for the waiver in one go of the remaining part of the crop loan waiver promised.

Addressing the media at the TRS Legislature Party office on Tuesday, the minister said that the State government had allotted Rs 17,000 crores for the promised crop loan waiver, and had so far waived half of the promised waiver. The government was seriously looking into the demand of the Opposition to waive off the rest of the 50% of the promised crop loan waiver in one go.

"We will soon waive off the rest of the amount, and plans are on," he said.

The TRS government was committed to the welfare of farmers, who should not end their lives, he said.

He took exception to the Opposition parties for stalling the House on Monday that led to the suspension of a majority of them.

Though Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao had given a statement and clarified as per the BAC meeting on the issue, the Opposition was creating a hullabaloo in the House, he charged.

Instead of creating a ruckus for politics, the Opposition should come forward to exhort the farmers not to resort to extreme steps, he said.

He also found fault with the Congress and the TDP, which he said had ruled the State for long and had miserably failed to address the issues of farmers, or complete a single irrigation project.