Harish Rao Slams Telangana Government Over Delay in Paddy Procurement

Former minister T. Harish Rao on Sunday lashed out at the Revanth Reddy government , alleging that it had failed in paddy procurement and lacked compassion towards farmers.

Along with Dubbak MLA Kotha Prabhakar Reddy and former MLA Padma Devender Reddy , Harish Rao visited a paddy procurement centre at Karnalapalli village in Chegunta mandal of Medak district.

Interacting with farmers who had been waiting for days at the procurement centre, Harish Rao inspected paddy stocks damaged by recent rains and expressed strong anger over what he termed the government’s negligence. Farmers informed him that although the procurement centre at Karnalapalli had been opened 25 days ago , only two lorries had arrived so far. They voiced concern over how long it would take to procure the stored grain if only one lorry arrived every ten days.

Harish Rao said farmers were facing severe hardships as rain-soaked paddy had to be dried again, yet procurement was still not taking place. He remarked that in every village across the state, farmers were “in tears at the procurement yards.”

Questioning the government’s response, he asked whether Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had held even a single collectors’ meeting or ministerial review on paddy procurement so far. He alleged that the government was giving priority to Delhi visits rather than farmers’ issues.

He further stated that not a single minister in Medak district had reviewed paddy procurement operations till now. Harish Rao said Civil Supplies Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy would understand the real difficulties faced by farmers if he personally visited the procurement centres. He added that the government’s failure was evident from the fact that even sarpanches and leaders belonging to the ruling party were staging protests in front of collectorates.

Harish Rao alleged that corruption in the Civil Supplies Corporation had pushed it towards bankruptcy and that banks were refusing to provide loans. As a result, he claimed, farmers who sold maize, Bengal gram and sunflower crops had not yet received “a single paisa.”

He also alleged that rice worth Rs 500 crore was rotting with insect infestation in ration shops while the government remained indifferent. He said hailstorms had severely damaged crops in ten villages of Chegunta mandal.

Demanding immediate action, Harish Rao urged the government to deploy more lorries, set up additional procurement counters and speed up paddy procurement. Otherwise, he warned that BRS MLAs and party leaders would lay siege to collectorates in support of farmers.