Government To Launch Country’s Best Crop Insurance Scheme Next Month: Tummala

 Khammam: Agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao on Wednesday informed that the state government was on course to come up with the best crop insurance cover next month. The crop insurance scheme will take into account potential losses in crop yield.

He was addressing the special general body meeting of the district Congress kisan cell, which was convened to discuss ways and means to get the support of farmers for the party candidate for Khammam Lok Sabha seat Ramasahayam Raghuram Reddy. He said that the state government has decided to bear the crop insurance premium of 70 lakh farmers. It urged insurance companies to bid only if they were willing to compensate for any kind of crop loss, including due to diseases. He exuded confidence that Telangana would implement the best insurance scheme in the country.

Reiterating that the state government would implement rythu bharosa, wherein farmers are extended an annual investment support of Rs 15,000 per acre (from the earlier `10, 000 per acre), the minister said that the implementation was delayed due to vote on budget. He said that the state’s next month’s regular budget would earmark substantial allocations for rythu bharosa.

Rao said that the Congress government has urged fertilizers companies, which have units in the state, to export DAP, urea and fertilizers to other states only after meeting the requirements of Telangana farmers.

He made it clear that Wyra and Lanka sagar projects, located in Khammam district, would be filled with Godavari waters by August 15. The BRS government had spent Rs 7,000 crore on the Sitarama project but had failed to provide irrigation facilities to even a single acre.

He asked the kisan cell members to exhort farmers to vote for Rahuram Reddy in the ensuing elections.

On his part, Reddy said that he would raise the issue of Khammam district in the Lok Sabha and work towards its all-round development. Reminding the gathering that the Congress had come to power in the state with the support of farmers, he asked them to highlight the pro-farmers policies of the state government.

Congress Kisan cell state vice-president Dasari Danniel and DCC president Puvvada Durga Prasad also attended the meeting.