Nalgonda:Irrigation minister Capt N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Friday said that the Congress government was focused on increasing farmers' per capita income through better policies, effective reforms and a pro-farmer approach.
Speaking to media after reviewing the works of Udaysamundram lift irrigation project at Brahmana Vellamla reservoir, along with ministers Komatireddy Venkatreddy and Ponnam Prabhakar, he emphasised that the government aimed to maximise irrigation coverage with minimal expenditure by focusing on completing pending projects and initiating new ones.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said that pumping into the Brahmana Vellamla reservoir would commence on Saturday by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy. In Phase-I, 734 acres of acquisition would be completed in a month and 50,000 acres of new ayacut would be irrigated.
He said that the SLBC tunnel works were now being taken up on a war-footing and once completed, three lakh acres of ayacut would be irrigated by Krishna water which would be supplied with gravity.
He reiterated the Congress government’s commitment to completing all pending irrigation projects in the erstwhile Nalgonda district. He highlighted that`5 crore had been allocated to complete canal works linked to the Brahmana Vellemla Project which is 50 per cent done. These works will be expedited to ensure water supply to 50,000 acres within a week.
Speaking at the inauguration of Suryateja raw boiled rice industry in Miryalaguda, Uttam Kumar Reddy highlighted reforms to address irrigation and procurement challenges. He stated that the civil supplies department inherited a debt of `58,623.08 crore from previous BRS government which was reduced by `11,608.40 crore within a year through meticulous planning.
To ease procurement for farmers, the government secured bank loans and offered an additional bonus of `500 per quintal. This bonus applies to all varieties of paddy including Telangana Sona and BPT which experts have identified as highly profitable. These measures and other initiatives helped farmers earn `35,000-`40,000 crore from kharif crops, he added.
