Uttam: Telangana Bought Most Paddy in 11-Year-Old History

Nalgonda: Telangana has logged its highest-ever paddy procurement, irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy announced on Friday, calling the purchase scale “unprecedented in the state’s 11-year history and even during undivided Andhra Pradesh.”

Addressing a review meeting at the district collectorate with roads and buildings minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao, the minister said: Farmers harvested 103.5 lakh t of paddy from 46.7 lakh acres in last season’s kharif, while the ongoing yasangi crop covers nearly 60 lakh acres with an estimated 130 lakh t yield. “No grain will be left unprocured,” he said, crediting the Congress government’s purchase drive for stabilising farm incomes. The state will resume issuing ration cards “after a decade-long freeze,” he said, pledging six kg of fine rice free to every beneficiary. The programme has so far cost Rs 10,665 crore and covers 2.81 crore people. Officials were ordered to fast-track land acquisition and forest clearances on all pending projects. Uttam Kumar Reddy cited decades of silt neglect at Sriram Sagar and Nagarjunasagar and said statewide desiltation is underway. The government has hired 1,100 engineers to rebuild a “neglected” irrigation department.

Komatireddy Venkat Reddy urged officials to rededicate themselves to welfare targets ahead of Telangana Formation Day on 2 June and asked for new godowns to handle bigger harvests.

Tummala Nageswara Rao said 20 lakh acres are suitable for oil-palm cultivation and announced plans for a processing plant between Suryapet and Nalgonda. He also urged farmers to curb chemical fertiliser use and adopt organic practices.