BRS Spent Rs 4.5 Lakh Crore On Agriculture: Minister

Minister for Agriculture Singireddy Niranjan Reddy today said that the BRS government had so far spent over Rs 4.5 lakh crore on agriculture and its allied sectors since the formation of Telangana State, and that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao had brought national recognition for Telangana's agriculture sector by initiating various schemes.

The minister held a video conference with officials and discussed the availability and supply of seeds, and the control of spurious seeds in the upcoming agriculture season.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister said that there was a need for about 18 lakh quintals of seeds, including for cotton, paddy, chilli, red gram and other crops, for the upcoming agriculture season, and asked the officials concerned to take steps to ensure the timely availability of seeds to the farmers.

Officials were also directed to prepare an action plan in coordination with the union government for the timely supply of fertilizers to the farmers.

The minister called for a crackdown on spurious seeds, and directed strict action against those responsible. He suggested that a special task force be set up to work in coordination with the agriculture department to curb the menace.

Officials were also directed to monitor the routes connecting Karnataka, Kurnool, Gadwal, Guntur, Prakasam, Asifabad, Bellampally and Gujarat via Zaheerabad, as there had been an increased supply of fake seeds from Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh over the years.

The minister also stressed the need to sensitize farmers about HT cotton seeds.

DGP Anjani Kumar, Agriculture Secretary M Raghunandan Rao, Hyderabad Police Commissioner C V Anand, CID chief Mahesh M Bhagwat, Cyberabad Police Commissioner M Stephen Raveendra, district Collectors and other officials from the agriculture and police departments were present during the video conference.