HYDERABAD: Union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said that the Government of Telangana failed to purchase paddy from the farmers. In reply to a supplementary question raised by Congress member N Uttam Kumar Reddy in Lok Sabha, the Union Minister said that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) is ready to procure rice from the State.
While raising the question, Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged that the situation in Telangana is alarming due to the failure of Central and State governments in procuring rice and a large number of paddy farmers are now ending their lives by suicide.
“You saw, till the other day, the TRS MPs enacted a drama here and walked out of the House. In August, the Food Corporation of India agreed to procure 40 lakh tonnes of rice from Telangana. Paddy has come into the market in October. Till today, the Food Corporation of India has not procured even half of that quantity,” he said.
Goyal, however, said that Uttam Kumar’s supplementary question has nothing to do with the main question on food security schemes raised by Sajda Ahmed of Trinamool Congress. He also refuted the allegations of Uttam Kumar and said that the Centre not procuring rice from Telangana was a ‘false propaganda being carried out time and again’.
“The FCI approved record procurement of rice from Telangana, which is a Decentralised Procurement (DPC) State and the FCI does not buy paddy directly (from farmers). The State government procures paddy and delivers rice to the FCI,” he said.
The Union Minister said that the Centre gave four to five extensions for the State to deliver the rice.
“I would like to say, with a lot of pain, that despite repeated extensions, the State failed to deliver the rice till date. We will give another extension,” he said.
At this juncture, Congress member A Revanth Reddy too spoke, but the Speaker directed the Minister not to respond.