Minister for Irrigation, Marketing and Legislative Affairs T Harish Rao on Saturday inaugurated a cotton purchase center in the Agricultural Market at Gajwel.
Speaking on the occasion, Harish Rao said the Cotton Corporation of India opened 83 cotton purchase centers in the Telangana State. He said the unique program of cotton purchase through cards has been launched in the State in order to put an end to the malicious practice of middlemen purchasing cotton directly from the hapless farmers at throwaway prices and make hay.
Referring to the crop loan waiver issue, Harish Rao said the neighboring Andhra Pradesh had waived only Rs 7,000 crore crop loan out of Rs 28,000 crore. The Telangana government has cleared Rs 8,400-crore crop loan out of a total loan of Rs 17,000 crore, he pointed out. He wondered that the Opposition leaders, who never demanded one-time waiver of crop loan in Andhra Pradesh, were demanding the same in Telangana with political vendetta.
Alleging that the TDP chief and AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was trying to sabotage the Telangana’s Dindi and Palamur irrigation projects, Harish Rao said TPCC chief Uttam Kumar Reddy and CLP leader K Jana Reddy owe an explanation to the toiling farmers over their unholy alliance with the anti-Telangana Telugu Desam party.
The Marketing minister also pointed out that the TRS government has taken up construction of godown to store 17,000 ton food grains at a cost of Rs 1,024 crore after formation of Telangana State.(NSS)