Congress Seeks Rs 4,000 For Farmers From Rabi Itself

Congress senior leader T Jeevan Reddy today demanded that the state government implement the Rs 4,000 per acre incentive scheme for farmers starting with this Rabi season itself.

He asked the government to extend the same scheme to tenant farmers, too, and not discriminate between them and pattedar farmers.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday at the Assembly media point, Reddy also said that it was improper for the state to consider turmeric and mirchi (chilli) crops as single crops per year. He said that in general farmers cultivated turmeric alongside maize, and that the turmeric was removed only after the completion of the maize crop work.

The Congress leader also demanded that the state government extend a bonus of Rs 500, instead of giving a minimum support price, to cereals. He noted that not just the neighbouring states, but BJP-ruled states in the country, too, were giving bonuses to farmers. He also demanded that the state government provide Rs 500 as bonus to farmers cultivating red gram, too.

The Congress leader further said that Telangana Agriculture Minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy spoke about farming without any proper understanding of crops, and alleged that the minister was simply reading the script prepared by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao for him.