KCR Urges PM To Extend Lockdown By Two Weeks

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao today urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend the lockdown being implemented to prevent spread of the novel coronavirus by another two weeks.

The CM said that the food processing industry should however be allowed to function to ensure that farmers were not to put to losses and that there was no problem in the supply of essential commodities during the lockdown.

The CM made this plea during a video conference held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with all the Chief Ministers of the country.

During the four hour-long VC, KCR made several suggestions to the PM. At the outset, he said that India was fighting the coronavirus unitedly and spiritedly, and that the international media had also praised the country's fight. He also said that the states were getting the required support from the Centre and that the PM was also speaking from time to time with the CMs, which was giving them great moral courage. He added that the lockdown had helped in containing the spread of the virus to a great extent, and said that it would be good to extend the lockdown for two more weeks.

"However, agriculture provides livelihood to many in our country. And we are self-sufficient as far as food grains are concerned. This situation should continue. We have stand by the farmer who feeds us. To protect the agriculture sector and ensure that there is no shortage of essential commodities, the food processing units should function. Measures should be taken to run rice mills, oil mills and other agriculture-based industries," he said.

KCR urged the PM to link agriculture with the MNREGA for at least two months through a policy by which farmers would pay half the wages for their labourers and the other half would be from the MNREGA funds. "With this we will be able to support our farmers in these difficult times," he said.

The CM said also that the agricultural yield of the country was in several crores of tonnes. "The primary responsibility for us is to procure them. There is no place where we can store the procured food grains. By giving the rice required by the people for the next three months, the FCI godowns in the country can be emptied. The newly procured food grains can be stored in these godowns," he said.

The CM further said that to prevent the crowding of farmers at one place, in Telangana 6,849 procurement centres had been created at the village level, and the food grains procured from there. He said that the state government had given a Rs 25,000 crore bank guarantee only for the procurement of paddy. He said that the state was procuring paddy in the villages and depositing the money in the accounts of the farmers directly.

"The paddy thus procured is converted to rice and supplied to the FCI. To get money from the FCI it will take four to five months. Till such time, the Centre should take measures so that the banks do not put any pressure for the payment of dues," he said.

Referring to the 1918 Spanish Flu, he said that there was an economic crisis all over the world, and added that a similar economic recession took place in the year 2008 all over the globe.

"Due to proper measures we could get over it. Even now we are facing financial problems. To counter this we need a strategic economic policy. The RBI should implement a quantitative easing policy. This is called helicopter money. This will facilitate the states and financial institutions to accumulate funds, and we can come out of the financial crisis. Release funds equivalent to 5% of the GDP through a quantitative easing policy," the Telangana CM said.

KCR also urged the PM to increase the FBRM from 3% to 5%, and to postpone the monthly interest being paid by the states on debts from the Centre for six months. He also urged the PM to create a task force under the chairmanship of the PM and prepare an action plan on how to help farmers.

Telangana Health Minister Etala Rajender, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar and DGP Mahender Reddy were also present during the video conference.