VIJAYAWADA: As promised Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has given top priority to agriculture by allocating more than 13.5 percent of the total budget outlay, said Andhra Pradesh State Agriculture Mission (APSAM) Vice-Chairman MVS Nagireddy. Speaking to newsmen in the city on Saturday, he found fault with TDP for its criticism of the budget and said he is ready for a debate on the issue. The Jagan Mohan Reddy government had taken several initiatives for the welfare of small, marginal and tenant farmers in the last one and half months, he said.
Nagireddy said, “The budgetary allocation of Rs 28,866 crore for agriculture and allied sectors is the highest among State budgets in the country. What promised is being delivered now. Instead of tweeting meaningless criticism, it will be better if those people state facts,” he advised.
Lashing out at Opposition Leader N Chandrababu Naidu for his comments on the budget, he reminded that despite the claim of the former chief minister that 85 percent of people in the State were happy with the TDP government, 86 percent of them gave their mandate to Jagan Mohan Reddy in the elections. “No other State has come forward to pay the premium for crop insurance on behalf of farmers.
The YSRC regime did it for the first time in the country. Top priority was also given to micro-irrigation to conserve water. Aqua farmers were also extended a helping hand in the form of subsidised power. Failed borewells are the main reason for farmer suicides.
Hence, the government has proposed to sink borewells free of cost,” he explained. The YSRC farmer wing leader also mentioned that the cooperative sector, which was largely neglected by the previous TDP regime, was given priority. Interest-free loans are also being given to farmers to ensure that they are not burdened, he added.