Hyderabad: TPCC President and Huzurnagar MLA N. Uttam Kumar Reddy has strongly condemned the TRS Government for not waiving off the crop loans.
Participating in discussion on agriculture sector in Telangana State Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the TRS, during 2014 General Elections, had promised to waive off crop loans up to Rs. 1 lakh.
However, he said that the loan amount has been split into four parts and the State Government was yet to clear the third installment. He said lakhs of farmers were in distress due to the non-clearance of loan amount.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the TRS leaders were wrongly accusing the Congress party of doing nothing for the farmers.
He said it was the Congress party which not only strengthened agriculture sector after country’s independence, but took steps for its modernisation.
Making a mention about Bengal and Bihar famine, he said the visionary approach of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru took the country to another level wherein India not only became self sufficient in food sector, but presently it also imports several agricultural products.
Similarly, it was the Congress party which brought white revolution by increasing milk production. Likewise, he said the construction of mega irrigation projects like Nagarjuna Sagar completely revived the agriculture sector.
Other facilities like extension of banking facilities to farmers were the achievement of previous Congress governments, he said.
The Congress leader pointed out that Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao had given assurances in the Assembly on two occasions that the entire crop loan dues would be waived after the Centre increases FRMB limit to 3.5 points.
He said despite the increase in FRBM limit, the Chief Minister failed to fulfill the promise. He said that the State Government paid no attention to the decrease in agricultural production in the State.
Quoting figures from the SLBC meetings, he said there was a huge decline in farm loans. He said that the farmers did not get input subsidy and there was no help either from the State or Central Government.
He said that the poor farmers were left to the mercy of private money lenders.
He also alleged that the State Government did not conduct proper enumeration of losses to the agriculture sector due to recent rains. He said that the agriculture extension services were extreme weak.
Uttam Kumar Reddy claimed that the previous UPA Government waived off crop loans in 2008 in a single take and the entire process was completed in less than 100 days.
He said that the present BJP-led NDA Government has failed to come to the rescue of farm sector. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to implement the recommendations of M.S. Swaminathan Commission. However, he said that the Centre did not take any measures to support the farmers. (INN)