Congress and TRS have criticised the Centre for not setting up a turmeric board in Telangana in the two Houses of Parliament on Tuesday following a written statement made by Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar in Rajya Sabha that there was no proposal on setting up Turmeric Board in Telangana.
In Lok Sabha, Nalgonda MP N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, who is also the president of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC), sought to know why there was no proposal in spite of promises made by several Union Ministers during the last Lok Sabha elections and requests from Telangana MPs and the State government. He demanded that the Centre announce support price for turmeric and also create a market fund.
He stated that the Regional Office cum Extension Centre of the Spices Board of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry with the offices at Warangal, Hyderabad, Nizamabad and Khammam would in now way help export promotion and marketing of turmeric. Mr. Uttam Reddy reminded the Centre that Union Minister Rajnath Singh and Prakash Javadekar and BJP general secretary Ram Madhav had given clear assurance on establishing the turmeric board at Nizamabad on the lines of coconut and coffee board. He stressed the need for market intervention fund.
According to the Nalgonda MP, Union Agriculture Minister Mr. Tomar had pointed that the Centre was not aware of land allotment made for the board at Nizamabad.
