Civil Supplies Minister Nadendla Manohar said that farmers who saw hell during the YSRCP regime are living happily after the coalition government came to power. He deplored that it is sad that the impatient former Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy suddenly woke up from his sleep and insulted the farmer who planted rice by saying that the government had given lime.
He made it clear that the government is working sincerely in the matter of grain procurement. He said that it is strange that Jagan, who is working as a `work from Bengaluru MLA’, is talking while staying away from the real situation. He said that the previous YSRCP government had given farmers Rs. 1,674 crore in grain purchase arrears, and that his government had paid those arrears within the month of coming to power.
Manohar was furious that Rs. 400 crore in arrears were not paid to millers and that they had incurred Rs. 41,000 crore in debt in the Civil Supplies Department. Are they talking about the welfare of farmers?, he asked. The minister said that Jagan should know that his government had purchased 48.34 lakh tonnes of grain in Kharif and Rabi and that Rs. 11,000 crores had been deposited in the accounts of farmers.
He said that he was ready to purchase another 10 lakh tonnes of grain. He revealed that a meeting will be held with the officials of East Godavari and Dr. BR Ambedkar Kona Seema districts at the Kakinada District Collectorate on Monday.
He accused that Jagan, like the Emperor of Rome playing the fiddle while sitting in his palace, insulted the farmers during untimely rains and storms. Isn’t it true that the farmers who came to sell grain to the mills were deceived in the software by using a randomization method and redirected to the mill of their choice?, he asked.
Manohar lamented that during the previous regime, the mills used to decide rates, but not deposit it into the farmers’ accounts, and only used the farmers for their scams. He recalled that for the first time, rice millers have been given a 1:2 concession in the ratio of bank guarantees if they do not have enough money. He cautioned that rice millers have a responsibility to act as a bridge between the government and farmers.
