HYDERABAD: The Central government on Tuesday clarified that a turmeric board would not be set up in Nizamabad as the existing spices board was already handling 50 spices including turmeric.TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy submitted a question to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare during the question hour in Lok Sabha as to whether the Central government proposes to set up a turmeric board in Nizamabad.
Speaking in the Parliament, Nalgonda MP Reddy said, “The government is talking about the spices board looking after the turmeric too, but is there a proposal for a turmeric board or not? There is no clear answer.” He said that when 50 per cent of the total turmeric produced in India come from the Nizamabad district, what was the problem in setting up a board which would facilitate exports.
Responding to Uttam, Union Minister of State for Agriculture Parshottam Rupala reiterated that the spices board was already handling nearly 50 spices including turmeric. He informed that an extension office of spices board had been set up in Nizamabad to deal specifically with turmeric and it became functional on February 20, and hence there was no need for a separate turmeric board.