Hold CMs’ meet on national procurement policy: Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao | Hyderabad News
KCR said since there was no uniform national-level foodgrains procurement policy, farmers were at the receiving end. He said the Centre procures entire marketable surplus paddy and wheat from states like Punjab and Haryana, but not from states like Telangana. There should not be different policies for different states within the country, he said.
“Such inconsistent and uncertain policies of the Centre are causing frustration and dissatisfaction among the farmers. Our country has witnessed the fury of our farmers in the past two years when the Centre enacted ‘anti-farmer’ laws. Bowing down to the farmers’ agitation, the Centre had to repeal the laws,” the CM said in a letter to the PM.
The CM, who sent a ministerial delegation to Delhi to meet Union minister for food Piyush Goyal, said implementation of National Food Security Act was the responsibility of the Centre. Since the state governments do not have storage facilities and ensure inter-state movement of foodgrains, etc., the onus was on the government of India to procure and supply foodgrains throughout the country, he emphasised.
“With the efforts of the Telangana government in the form of incentives and infrastructure, agriculture production in the state has increased substantially. The Centre should procure the entire quantity of paddy after meeting the state’s public distribution system (PDS) requirements. But the ministry of food and consumer affairs is disinclined to procure paddy for the past two years. Implementation of minimum support price (MSP) is the primary responsibility of the Union government,” KCR stressed.
The chief minister appealed to the PM to direct the ministry of food to procure entire marketable surplus paddy during the current rabi season.
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