Telangana agriculture minister Niranjan Reddy today reiterated his appeal to the farmers of the state to not to go in for paddy cultivation in the present Yasangi (Rabi) season, and opt for alternative crops.
Speaking to the media at Telangana Bhavan, he said that the farmers would benefit if they opted for crops other than paddy.
He added that officials of the state government would educate the farmers on options in alternative crops.
Attacking the union government again, Reddy said that TRS MPs were fighting with the Centre in Parliament on the issue of paddy purchase from the state, but that the Centre was not changing its attitude.
He also said that though the state was not involved in the purchase of paddy, the state government was paying in advance to help the farmers, but the Centre was delaying the payment for the paddy procured.
He said that it was the responsibility of the Centre to take the procured paddy without delay. He also said that it was the Centre that had introduced the boiled rice policy earlier, and that it was adopting an opportunistic attitude.
The Centre was weakening every public sector undertaking and was planning to wind up the FCI, and that was why the FCI was imposing restrictions on the procurement of paddy, he alleged.
filed in:Telangana, Agriculture, Farmers, Paddy, S Niranjan Reddy, Centre, Crops