Telangana heading for record paddy procurement: Uttam

Metro India News | Hyderabad

The Minister for Irrigation and Civil Supplies, N Uttam Kumar Reddy said on Wednesday that paddy purchases which are being pursued as part of robust strategy for Rabi 2025-26, are set to touch a new high. 

Addressing a news conference at the BR Ambedkar Secretariat, he reiterated the state’s commitment to seamless procurement paying due attention to adverse weather conditions, farmer safety and welfare. The Congress government has significantly improved performance over the previous BRS regime in cultivation, production and procurement, he stated.

Uttam Kumar Reddy lambasted the opposition BRS party for, what he termed, spreading “false propaganda” and creating confusion among farmers over the ongoing rabi paddy procurement drive The minister stated that Telangana is on track for an all-time high in the current rabi season, with paddy cultivated across 67 lakh acres and an expected yield of 141 lakh metric tonnes. 

As per minister Uttam Kumar Reddy, the government has set a massive procurement target of 90 lakh metric tonnes and has already allocated a record Rs 21,501 crore for Minimum Support Price (MSP) payments to farmers. So far, the government has procured 17.28 lakh metric tonnes of paddy and disbursed Rs 2,310 crore directly to farmers’ accounts. He stated that in all 8,575 procurement centers have been set up across the state, up from 7,178 in the previous rabi under BRS government. 

He informed that around 2.63 lakh tarpaulins were arranged to protect paddy from unseasonal rains, over 18.75 crore gunny bags were made available and over 6,200 trucks were deployed for quick movement of procured paddy to mills. The minister made it clear that the government will not tolerate any short-weighing or harassment of farmers at procurement centers. Strict action will be taken against anyone indulging in such malpractices, he said.

With the monsoon approaching, the government has prioritized weather monitoring supported by timely alerts. Daily weather alerts are being issued to enable timely preventive action at procurement centers (PPCs).   

Immediate shifting arrangements are ready to move any rain-drenched paddy to designated boiled rice mills as per approved targets.  Daily monitoring is underway by supervisory officers at village, mandal and constituency levels. State-level nodal officers have been designated for daily review and swift resolution of field-level issues.   A 24×7 control room at Civil Supplies Bhavan is overseeing operations round the clock.