Govt Committed to Making ‘Farmer Is King’ a Reality: Ponguleti

Nalgonda:Revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy on Friday said the state government’s pro-farmer initiatives are aimed at ensuring a dignified and respectful life for farmers.

He said the Congress government has fulfilled all its pre-poll promises made to farmers by inaugurating two quarries of Primary Agriculture Cooperative Society (PACS), each with a storage capacity of 1,000 metric tonnes, at Chegomma village in Kusumanchi mandal of Khammam district. He stated that the government is implementing social assistance programs with the aim of making the slogan “farmer is king” a reality.

He said crop loans worth Rs 20,670 billion have been waived within four months of the government’s inauguration, benefiting nearly 20 lakh farmers across the state. Under the investment support scheme, Rythu Bharosa, financial assistance of Rs 12,000 per acre annually was being transferred directly to farmers’ bank accounts.

The Minister also said that in addition to the minimum support price, a bonus of 500 per quintal will also be provided for the fine variety of paddy. Instead of exporting quality paddy to other states, the government was supplying quality rice procured through millers to ration card holders; This move he describes as a turning point in food safety. He assured that every grain of paddy will be procured and payments will be transferred to farmers’ accounts within a week.

Highlighting the need for adequate storage infrastructure, he said the government was encouraging PACS to build more godowns. He added that 3.8 lakh new pattadar passbooks containing Bhu Bharathi survey maps have been issued in the last two and a half years and this will help prevent land disputes, especially in rural areas.

Stating that welfare schemes were reaching every household, he said the second phase of Indiramma Houses would be launched soon. In the next phases, all eligible poor families will be covered, with a target of making Telangana a shack-free state within three years.

Earlier, the minister distributed CMRF checks worth Rs 50.5 lakh to 191 beneficiaries. District collector Anudeep Durishetti and Khammam Police Commissioner Sunil Dutt were also present.