Judicious use of Yellampalli water, bountiful of rains helped TG achieve highest ever paddy yield, sans Kaleshwaram project: Ponnam

Telangana achieves record paddy production with Yellampalli project, Minister criticizes KLIP, praises pro-farmer initiatives by Congress government.

Copious rainfall and judicious use of water from the Yellampalli project helped Telangana achieve its highest ever paddy production in the monsoon season this year, sans the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP), Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said.

Taking a swipe at the BRS’s ‘oft-repeated claims’ of the irrigation potential of the KLIP, now-defunct project, the minister said Telangana produced a record paddy, the highest ever in Telangana, even in the erstwhile United Andhra Pradesh, this year.

He was speaking after the swearing-in ceremony of the new office bearers of the Huzurabad Agricultural Market Committee in Huzurabad of Karimnagar district on Monday.

The Congress government proved its commitment for the welfare of farmers by implementing a string of pro-farmer initiatives, including waiver of farm loans up to ₹2 lakh and payment of bonus of ₹500 a quintal on fine rice as promised, he claimed.

“The State government has already decided to extend the waiver benefit to the farmers with outstanding loan amounts above ₹2 lakh once they clear the excess amount above ₹2 lakh. The Rythu Bharosa assistance would also be provided soon,” he said.

He said the State government directed the defaulters among rice millers to immediately clear all the dues pertaining to the custom milled rice to the tune of around ₹20,000 crore.

The BRS and the BJP are friends under the guise of foes, he charged, taking a dig at the reported comments made by some BRS leaders over the outcome of Maharashtra Assembly polls.