Telangana Being Punished for Following MSP Rules: Tummala

Hyderabad:With its godowns practically overflowing with the produce of the Rabi season, and some more procurements of jowar still underway, Telangana has urged the Centre to put its money where its mouth is and procure from the state all crops purchased by the state government by paying their respective minimum support prices (MSP).

Addressing a press conference, agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao said the state was “being punished” for following Central guidelines on ensuring that farmers get MSP by buying their crops. “The Centre is responsible for buying the MSP-paid crops from the state. On top of this, it said it will only take 25 per cent of our purchases of pulses and sunflower, and other crops. For instance, with respect to sunflower and bengal gram, we asked that the procurement be raised by another 15 per cent but there has been no response,” Nageswara Rao said.

“If you don’t want to purchase crops from the state at MSP for which Telangana is the state to follow the rule, then stop announcing MSPs. Why is the Centre pushing its responsibility on the state? Why are we being punished for following Central guidelines,” Nageswara Rao asked.

The minister said Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, himself, and other ministers had more than once taken these issues to the notice of Prime Minister and other Central ministers dealing with these subjects but there has been no response. “If need by, a delegation of ministers from Telangana will again go to Delhi and meet the ministers concerned and impress upon them on the need for the Centre to step up,” he said.

Nageswara Rao said that because of the Centre’s polices on procurement that the Telangana’s Markfed had accumulated losses of nearly `6,000 crore since the formation of the state.

The minister also said that Telangana was planning its own Seeds Act though the Centre has kept with it powers to regulate and act on all aspects related to seeds. “If a farmer loses because of spurious seeds then state cannot take any action. Our plan is to draft our own Act, and seek Centre’s approval and Presidential assent to implement it,” he said.