Telangana Spending ₹5,250 Crore Monthly on Farmer Welfare: Ponguleti

Telangana’s Congress government is giving top priority to farmers’ welfare despite financial constraints, Revenue, Housing and Information & Public Relations Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said, asserting that there would be no compromise on measures aimed at strengthening the farming community.

Speaking at a farmers’ meet at Kaloji Kala Kshetram in Hanamkonda, Ponguleti said the government was working with the objective of making farmers prosperous. The programme was organised by the Agriculture Department in association with the ATMA committee and chaired by MLA Nayani Rajender Reddy.

Ponguleti said the previous BRS government spent around ₹2,500 crore a month on farmer welfare, while the government led by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy was spending nearly ₹5,250 crore every month.

He said the government had procured farmers’ produce to prevent distress sales and ensured support prices and timely payments for paddy. The minister attributed this year’s good harvest to favourable conditions and farmers’ hard work.

He criticised the previous government for failing to create adequate warehouse capacity, saying this had caused difficulties during procurement. The present administration, he claimed, had built more warehouses to strengthen storage infrastructure.

Ponguleti also accused the BJP-led Centre of offering inadequate support to farmers, contrasting it with Telangana’s procurement of maize and jowar at support prices.

On land issues, he said Bhu Bharati was aimed at protecting ownership rights and resolving disputes. Surveys were being conducted in 70 revenue villages in the first phase, and he urged landowners to cooperate.

The minister also advised farmers to follow weather advisories and scientific farming practices while selecting crops, stressing that climate-responsive agriculture could improve yields and reduce risks.