30 lakh acres to be irrigated, says Kiran

State to spend Rs. 30,000 crore on Jalayagnam in next three years; ‘Rythu Sadassu' programme inaugurated

Efforts are on to bring nearly 30 lakh acres of land under cultivation in the next three years under the Jalayagnam programme. Government will be spending a whopping Rs. 30,000 crore on it.

Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy announced this while launching the ‘Rythu Sadassu' programme at Ibrahimpatnam in Ranga Reddy district on Tuesday.

Mr. Reddy dismissed as untrue the criticism that government had not irrigated a single acre of land though a huge amount was spent under the Jalayagnam programme. In fact 25 lakh acres had already been brought under cultivation. Under the Indra Jala Prabha scheme it was proposed to develop another 10 lakh acre land, mostly belonging to SCs and STs.

Stating that the Congress government was farmer friendly, the Chief Minister listed out various measures taken for their benefit. During the last six years 28 lakh farmers had benefitted from the government's free power supply while 64 lakh farmers had benefitted from the loan waiver scheme.

Recently the government had given input subsidy of Rs. 15 crore in Ranga Reddy district alone. The district was allotted Rs. 5 crore for creation of a vegetable zone.

MSP issue

Government was doing its best to secure an additional Rs. 200 over and above the MSP given to paddy. Under the NDA rule the MSP was hiked by only Rs. 70 while under the UPA it was increased from Rs. 592 to Rs. 1030, the Chief Minister said.

The State was getting a fertilizer subsidy of Rs. 8200 crore from the Centre and input subsidy of Rs. 1430 crore while the farmers were provided seed subsidy of Rs. 1700 crore. Referring to demands made earlier, the Chief Minister said the Centre had agreed in principle to provide national project status to Polavaram and Pranahita-Chevella irrigation projects. Instructions were also given for preparation of a detailed project report about phase III of Krishna project. The innovative agricultural practices had led to record output of rice during Kharif and Rabi seasons, 32 per cent more than the previous year. The Indra Kranti Padham women had also procured 1.5 lakh metric tonnes. All this had given rise to storage problem, the Chief Minister remarked.

Home Minister Sabita Indra Reddy highlighted the sufferings of the farmers in Ranga Reddy district due to poor rainfall. She wanted the district to be declared a vegetable hub. Ibrahimpatnam legislator, M. Kishan Reddy, demanded supply of 6 tmc of Krishna water to Ranga Reddy district as nearly 60 to 70 lakes had gone dry. He wanted cold storage facility to be created at all market yards as vegetable produce was now going waste.