Andhra Pradesh: Paddy Procurement Doubled Under NDA, Says Manohar

Vijayawada: Civil Supplies, Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Nadendla Manohar has strongly criticised former chief minister and YSRC chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy for levelling baseless allegations against the NDA government regarding paddy procurement in the state. Manohar asserted that paddy procurement during the ongoing Kharif season has doubled compared to the corresponding period under the previous YSRC government.

“The NDA alliance government has procured 9.14 lakh metric tonnes of paddy from farmers so far during this Kharif season, a 100 per cent increase compared to the 4.43 lakh metric tonnes procured by the previous YSRC government in the same period,” Manohar stated in a post shared on his X profile on Tuesday.

Highlighting district-wise procurement figures, Manohar noted that 3.34 lakh metric tonnes of paddy were procured from East and West Godavari districts alone, the state’s primary paddy-growing regions. In contrast, the previous government had procured just 1.85 lakh metric tonnes from these districts during the corresponding season.

The minister further revealed that the current government has purchased 45,111 metric tonnes of paddy from farmers in Bapatla, Guntur, ASR, Visakhapatnam, and Vizianagaram districts. By comparison, the previous administration had not procured any paddy from these districts during the same period, citing official statistics.

Additionally, the civil supplies minister highlighted that the government credited Rs 2,134.42 crore into farmers' bank accounts for 9.27 lakh metric tonnes of paddy procured within 48 hours, of which Rs 2,037 crore were paid in less than 24 hours.