HYDERABAD, NOV 3 : Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar expressed concern on Sunday over the Telangana government’s delay in paddy procurement, which is yet to commence despite the harvest season beginning over a month ago.

In his statement, Sanjay highlighted a significant gap between government announcements and actions. “Although the government declared that 7,572 paddy procurement centres would be set up across the state and claimed that 4,598 of these centres are operational, procurement has not yet started at any centre,” he stated.

Farmers, he said, are left waiting with harvested paddy piled up at these centres, which are now filled to capacity. Many have had to leave their crops along the roadside, creating difficulties for both the farmers and travellers. Recent rains have worsened the situation, soaking paddy in several districts and damaging large portions of the harvest. In the Karimnagar parliamentary constituency, including Choppadandi, Sircilla, Manakondur, and Huzurabad, thousands of acres of paddy have been waterlogged, with soaked crops left drying in plain.

The prolonged delay, Sanjay suggested, seems deliberate, forcing farmers to sell their paddy to millers at reduced rates. “Frustrated farmers are being compelled to sell their produce at throwaway prices,” he remarked.

He called for immediate action to initiate paddy procurement and urged the government to honour its election promises by buying every grain of paddy, regardless of factors like chaff, shrinkage, or moisture content. While the election manifesto promised a bonus of Rs. 500 per quintal for all types of paddy, Sanjay criticized the restriction of this bonus only to fine rice as unjust, advocating for the bonus to be extended to all varieties.

Additionally, he raised concerns about limits placed on the bonus for fine rice, as well as restrictions on the quantity procured per acre, even for farmers producing up to 30 quintals per acre. He noted that officials have reportedly received verbal instructions to apply various measurements to determine fine rice quality, which has led to complaints from farmers.

In light of these issues, Sanjay called on the government to implement unrestricted procurement of all paddy varieties as promised and to extend the bonus to coarse rice. To protest the delay, he announced that BJP cadres in the Karimnagar constituency would launch agitation programs.

As part of these efforts, BJP members will submit representations to Tahsildars at all Mandal offices in the constituency on Monday, he said.