HYDERABAD: Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Tuesday hit back at former minister and BRS leader T Harish Rao over allegations related to paddy procurement. Sharing official statistics, the minister urged Harish Rao to stop what he called a daily campaign of falsehoods.
In a social media post, Uttam shared a comparative chart showing a sharp increase in paddy procurement during the current Rabi season. “Harish Rao Garu, please see these comparative procurement figures of this year and stop stating falsehoods on every issue every single day!” he posted.
Uttam asserted that the Congress government has established more procurement centres and streamlined operations to benefit farmers directly. He reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring Minimum Support Price (MSP), the payment of a `500 bonus per quintal for fine-quality paddy.
“Telangana witnessed a record-breaking performance in paddy production. In the Kharif season, 153.5 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of paddy were produced across 66.7 lakh acres, while the Rabi crop covered 55 lakh acres, yielding another 127 lakh metric tonnes,” Uttam wrote.
He pointed out that Telangana has thus produced a total of 280 LMT paddy in one agricultural year — a historic feat not just in the state but also across the nation.