Amaravati : A rainfall deficit of 48.3 per cent in the ongoing Kharif season in Andhra Pradesh has pushed agricultural operations into jeopardy and the state reels under an acute water scarcity situation.
To cope with the situation, chief minister Jaganmohan Reddy announced a grant of Rs one crore from the Chief Minister's Development Fund to each assembly constituency to resolve the drinking water scarcity. He asked the lawmakers to assess the situation in their respective constituencies and work on how the crisis can be overcome.
The chief minister said this while addressing the assembly on the first day of the Budget session and listed out other measures to aid the distressed farmers.
He informed the House that nearly 62 % of the population depends on agriculture and grant of Rs 12,500 will be given to each farmer under the YSR Rythu Bharosa scheme. Apart from this, he said the government was setting up Rs 2,000 crore Natural Calamity Relief Fund to serve farmers in times of distress.
“The YSR Rythu Bharosa scheme will be implemented from October 15 and Rs 3,000 crore Market Stabilization Fund would be created to check the price fluctuations in agriculture produce” CM Reddy said.
Andhra Pradesh government has reiterated its commitment for farmers’ welfare and said that it is taking all steps to mitigate the drought condition and solve drinking water scarcity.
“We will face the situation and go forward working for the farmers’ welfare. We had to clear the dues of the previous government on seed procurement to a tune of Rs 384 crores,” he added.
As against the normal rainfall of 135.5 mm from June 1 till now, the state received only 70.1 mm, marking a deficit of 48.3 per cent.
While various crops are grown in 42 lakh hectares during Kharif, sowings were taken up in only 3.82 lakh hectares so far this season, he said.
Normally, sowings would have been completed at least in 9.15 lakh ha by now. This year, sowings are delayed due to scanty rainfall and lack of water, Jagan pointed out.
He accused the previous TDP regime of diverting even Central government grant, leaving farmers in agony after last years drought.
We all have witnessed a worst drought in 2018-19. The then government sought Rs 1838 crore from the Centre for drought relief. The Centre released Rs 900 crore towards input subsidy for farmers but the Chandrababu Naidu government did not give even a single rupee to the hapless farmers who lost their crops, the Chief Minister alleged.
Besides, the previous government also did not pay Rs 960 crore to farmers on the paddy procured from them last year and "betrayed" the farmers by "not fully honouring" its promise of farm loan waiver, he charged.
Though it cut down the total outstanding to just Rs 24,500 crore, only about Rs 15,000 crore was cleared to banks in five years. As a result, the zero-interest loan scheme for farmers was scrapped, he added.
The farm loan dues now stood at Rs 1,49,224 crore, the chief minister said.
It was to pull the farmers out of distress that his government was re-introducing the zero-interest loan scheme besides paying crop insurance premium on behalf of farmers, he said.
He also said the state government would pay Rs 2,164 crore as insurance premium for over 55 lakh farmers.
While Rs 360 crore have been released to clear payment dues to paddy farmers, another Rs 384 crore towards seeds had also been released by his government, the Chief Minister said.
Jagan also said his government would pay Rs 2,000 crore as input subsidy to farmers, which the previous regime 'owed' last year.
(With PTI inputs)
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