Telangan : Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy seeks Centre’s intervention to prevent distress sales by farmers
Telangana’s Irrigation & Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy urged the Union government to revise rice procurement norms, extend Rabi 2024-25 CMR delivery deadlines, increase storage, and raise KMS 2025–26 procurement targets to protect farmers from distress sales.
HYDERABAD: Irrigation & Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Tuesday wrote a couple of letters to the Union government, flagging multiple pending issues related to paddy procurement, rice milling and storage, while seeking urgent intervention to safeguard farmers from distress sales.
In his letters addressed to Union ministers and senior officials of the Department of Food & Public Distribution, Uttam pointed out that Telangana has witnessed bumper harvests in both Kharif and Rabi seasons, leading to procurement far beyond the targets allocated by the Centre. The state, he said, was undertaking procurement operations by borrowing from banks at high interest to protect farmers.
One of the major demands raised was a revision of the order that mandates delivery of all balance custom milled rice (CMR) from Kharif 2024–25 exclusively in the form of parboiled rice by November 12. Telangana has argued that Kharif paddy is more suitable for raw rice conversion, and that 7.8 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of unmilled paddy is with raw rice millers, who cannot process it into boiled rice. The state offered to shift the parboiled rice target to the ongoing Rabi season instead, when the crop is more suited for conversion.
The minister also requested an additional allotment of at least 10 LMTs of boiled rice for the Rabi season of KMS 2024–25. Telangana has already procured 74.23 LMT of paddy against the Centre’s allocation of 51.47 LMT, he noted, adding that 13.97 LMT of boiled rice had already been delivered and more was in the pipeline. Given the nature of the crop, much of the remaining stock is more appropriate for boiled rice production, he said.
Seeking relief on another front, the state urged the Centre to extend the deadline for Rabi 2024-25 CMR delivery by three months beyond October 31, citing pending backlogs from Kharif.
Telangana also raised serious concerns over the paucity of storage space in FCI godowns. Out of 22.61 LMT capacity available in the state, 21.72 LMT has already been occupied.
“Millers are being compelled to halt operations due to lack of space, and in some cases labourers are leaving because of the scarcity of work,” the minister said while requesting the Centre to hire additional godowns or allot more rakes to move rice to other states.
Looking ahead to the coming Kharif season, Telangana has also urged the Centre to revise upwards its procurement target. Against the Centre’s approval for 36 LMT of rice (equivalent to 53.73 LMT of paddy) for KMS 2025–26, the state has projected production of nearly 148 LMT of paddy. It has sought enhancement of the target to 80 LMT of paddy procurement to avoid distress sales and ensure farmers get minimum support price (MSP).
Highlighting Telangana’s contribution to national food security, Uttam said that the state had consistently surpassed procurement targets in previous years, owing to favourable monsoons, well-developed procurement infrastructure, over 7,000 purchase centres and strong milling and transport capacity.
“Unless the Centre responds positively, lakhs of farmers may face hardship,” he cautioned.
‘Extend deadline for CMR delivery’
In his letters to the Centre, Uttam Kumar Reddy urged the Centre to extend the deadline for Rabi 2024–25 custom milled rice (CMR) delivery by three months beyond October 31, citing pending backlogs from Kharif. Highlighting the state’s contribution to national food security, Uttam said that TG had consistently surpassed procurement targets in previous years.
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Source : The New Indian Express
