Pay Rs 30,000 per acre compensation for rain-damaged crops: Telangana Kisan Congress

HYDERABAD: The Telangana unit of the Kisan Congress has demanded that the state government should pay Rs 30,000 per acre compensation to the farmers towards the crop damages caused due to recent heavy rains in the state.
The state committee meeting of the Kisan Congress held here on Friday discussed the district-wise problems being faced by the farmers due to heavy rains and other factors, and said that the state government should immediately announce the variety of agriculture products it will procure from the farmers. If the government does not announce the number of agriculture products it is going to purchase, the farmers will look towards the private buyers who will exploit them by not offering minimum support price,
Kisan Congress state president Sunketa Anvesh Reddy who chaired the meeting said a variety of crops in about 4 lakh acres were damaged due to inundation following continuous heavy rains for almost two weeks.
The meeting was of the opinion that cotton, paddy and pulses crops were the most badly hit due to continuous heavy rains. “The damage due to cotton crop is over 50 per cent. In the districts that are near to the Krishna and Godavari rivers, sand blocks have formed in the agriculture fields including the paddy cultivation,” said Anvesh Reddy.
The meeting said the government should formally assess the crop loss and announce a compensation package by treating the crop damages under the Natural Calamities Act. The compensation should be a minimum of Rs 30,000 per acre.
The meeting also discussed the losses incurred by the farmers due to the alleged supply of spurious soya bean seeds. “Hundreds of farmers have incurred losses in 42,000 acres due to alleged spurious seed supply. The government should book cases under PD Act against those responsible for the spurious seed supply,” Anvesh Reddy said.