HYDERABAD: Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao wants the state to become self-reliant in manufacturing of gunny bags. Presently, it depends upon supplies from gunny bag manufacturing units in West Bengal to store its paddy.
Though KCR said he has directed chief secretary Somesh Kumar and Industries department officials to offer incentives, suitable land and give fast-track clearances to set up gunny bag manufacturing units in the state, officials said it will take time for the entrepreneurs to set up gunny bags manufacturing units here.
The immediate challenge before the state government is to get 20 crore gunny bags to store 1.05 crore metric tonnes of paddy from rabi crop. The harvesting of the crop has already commenced and is expected to continue till mid-May.
As the gunny bags manufacturing units in West Bengal are closed due to country-wide lockdown, the state government has directed rice millers and fair price shop dealers to send back the existing gunny bags supplied to them with paddy produced during kharif crop. This way the government is expecting to pool in 10 crore gunny bags which will be sufficient till month-end.
“The chief minister has already taken up the gunny bags matter with the prime minister as it is not only Telangana but other states too which depend on supplies from West Bengal. We are also looking at other possible safe storage of paddy,” Civil Supplies Corporation chairman Mareddy Srinivas Reddy said.
The state government has also agreed to pay Rs 2 more per gunny bag to FP dealers returning it to the Civil Supplies Corporation. Instead of Rs 18 per bag, the dealers would be paid Rs 20 per empty bag. The government is expecting pooling in of gunny bags from FP dealers sooner than later as 2.51 lakh metric tonnes of rice has been distributed to white ration card holders in just 8 days.
Though KCR said he has directed chief secretary Somesh Kumar and Industries department officials to offer incentives, suitable land and give fast-track clearances to set up gunny bag manufacturing units in the state, officials said it will take time for the entrepreneurs to set up gunny bags manufacturing units here.
The immediate challenge before the state government is to get 20 crore gunny bags to store 1.05 crore metric tonnes of paddy from rabi crop. The harvesting of the crop has already commenced and is expected to continue till mid-May.
As the gunny bags manufacturing units in West Bengal are closed due to country-wide lockdown, the state government has directed rice millers and fair price shop dealers to send back the existing gunny bags supplied to them with paddy produced during kharif crop. This way the government is expecting to pool in 10 crore gunny bags which will be sufficient till month-end.
“The chief minister has already taken up the gunny bags matter with the prime minister as it is not only Telangana but other states too which depend on supplies from West Bengal. We are also looking at other possible safe storage of paddy,” Civil Supplies Corporation chairman Mareddy Srinivas Reddy said.
The state government has also agreed to pay Rs 2 more per gunny bag to FP dealers returning it to the Civil Supplies Corporation. Instead of Rs 18 per bag, the dealers would be paid Rs 20 per empty bag. The government is expecting pooling in of gunny bags from FP dealers sooner than later as 2.51 lakh metric tonnes of rice has been distributed to white ration card holders in just 8 days.
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