Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao today appealed to the Centre again to procure rice stocks from the state. The Chief Minister urged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi direct FCI officials procure rice stocks from the state.
In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister sought clarity from the Centre on how much quantities of rice will be procured by it during Rabi season. He urged the Central government to procure more than 40 lakh metric tons of rice stocks in Kharif season in 2020-21 as about 90 per cent of rice stocks were cleared from Punjab.
The Chief Minister claimed that the state contributes to national food security by producing more paddy and other crops.
The new state surpassed the previous drought and hunger situation and became a huge food grain surplus state, the CM claimed. He said that Telangana offers Rs 10000 per acre to farmers and 24-hour free power to push farm production. Though FCI is mandated to lift the stocks no fixed target was being reached every year, KCR said. While the farm production keeps rising every year the FCI is not keeping pace beside the target to procure the same in the country is not fixed yet, he said.
The Chief Minister also urged that the Centre has to procure the remaining 5 lakh metric tons of rice in Rabi season of 2020-21. KCR urged the Centre to give clarity on how much rice will it procure from the state in the coming Rabi season.
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He urged the Centre to get about 60 lakh mt rice stocks from the state. Due to the adamant attitude of FCI confusion prevailing in the states on farm produce, he expressed displeasure. The CM further urged the Centre to take immediate action on the same.
KCR said that he personally met with Food and Civil Supplies Minister Piyush Goel on September 25, 26 to avoid confusion and fix some appropriate targets to procure rice stocks from the state, he explained. Though 50 days have been passed and no proper response yet from the Centre on rice stocks, he expressed displeasure.
He also attached the letter to Union Food and Civil Supplies Minister Piyush Goel.
He urged the Centre to shoulder its responsibility to procure all paddy stocks from the state. He objected that the Centre is ignoring to get the same from Telangana while the FCI was getting the stocks from Punjab state. The Centre is supposed to get the stocks from all the states with equal priority. No partisan attitude should be shown towards any state including Telangana he said.
The TRS is conducting protests for the same demand to procure paddy from our state, he informed in the letter. The state has been urging the Centre to clear our stocks and help farmers he said. We are going to conduct protests and mount pressure on the Centre on the same demand, he reiterated.
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The Chief Minister already fumed at the Centre for adopting double standards on paddy or rice procurement. During a TRSLP meeting, KCR sought to know as to why the Centre clears paddy from Punjab and not from Telangana.
Why this partisan attitude on us he asked and warned to go in for a war against the Centre mount pressure until it gives clarity on the same.
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