A comprehensive Telangana State paddy and rice policy will be prepared in view of significant increase in the paddy yield in the State, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao said.
He instructed the officials concerned to formulate the policy after consulting with rice millers and other stakeholders. He announced that the government will stand by the rice millers and make them stakeholders in the State’s development and progress. The draft policy will be discussed in the State Cabinet and later in the Legislature before before introduced.
Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao held a high-level review meeting here on Monday at Pragathi Bhavan on paddy cultivation, paddy yield, milling of rice and exports, and the policy to be pursued and other related issues. Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy, Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, DGP Mahender Reddy, Principal Secretary (Agriculture) B Janardhan Reddy, Civil Supplies Corporation Chairman Mareddy Srinivas Reddy, Commissioner Satyanarayana Reddy, State Rice Millers Association president Gampa Nagender, Mohan Reddy, leaders Chandrapal, Bocchu Bhaskar, Prabhakar Rao, Thota Sampath Kumar, Kanthaiah, Yadagiri and others participated.
“There is a lot of difference between the situation that prevailed during the united AP and now. Construction of major projects like the Kaleshwaram, completion of the on-going projects, revival of tanks under Mission Kakatiya, 24-hour free power to farmers, water in abundance to farmers led to increase in paddy cultivation in the State,” Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao said.
In this rabi season, Paddy was cultivated in 40 lakh acres and there is a possibility of more than one crore tonnes of paddy being harvested. This time during the monsoon, paddy will be cultivated in 55 lakh to 60 lakh acres. Under Kaleshwaram project alone paddy can be cultivated in more than 35 lakh acres. Next year paddy will be cultivated in at least 70 lakh acres. Telangana State produces 2.25 crore tonnes of paddy every year and is becoming the rice bowl of India. Under these circumstances, procuring the paddy and sending it to the mills to make rice and selling it will become a major task. There is a need for a comprehensive paddy and rice policy to ensure that the entire harvest can be milled and rice sold without any problem, he said.
“There are 2, 200 rice mills in the State, which can process one crore tonnes of rice per year. In the past, they could not get the paddy to their capacity. There is supply of paddy in abundance, 24 hour uninterrupted power supply and rice mills should take advantage of the situation and mill more rice. They should operate to their optimum level to mill rice for the purpose of consumption within the State, to supply to the FCI and to export to other States. There is a need to have new mills. From the government side we will do everything to run the rice mills in an effective way and to put them in profits. The rice mills in Telangana should become stakeholders in the State’s development and progress,” the CM urged.
Chief Minister also said henceforth there will be no harassment of rice millers by the officials. The government will make changes in the policy to do away with so many permissions. Rice millers should have a proper marketing strategy while a study should be made to know what varieties of rice are preferred by people in the State and those in other States. Such varieties of paddy, based on the study should be cultivated, milled into rice and supplied to people in the State, other States and countries.
Food processing units
Chief Minister said that government will consider allocating sites in the industrial estates for setting up rice mills which will be recognised as food processing units and necessary concessions and encouragement would be given. It is considering increasing capacity of rice mills from 70 HP to 150 HP under the LT Category.
He also said the number of godowns in the State should be increased. Before formation of the State there were only four lakh tonnes capacity of godowns in the region which was increased to 22 lakh tonnes. But this should be increased to 40 lakh tonnes.
Due to the present coronavirus problem, hamalis working in the rice mills have gone back to their home State. The government would make arrangements to get them, he said.
Meanwhile, the Telangana Rice Millers Association donated ₹ 50 lakh to the CMRF. Association Leaders Nagender and Mohan Reddy handed over the cheque to the CM.
