Revanth urges CM to respond on crop loss

THE CONGRESS chief demanded that the government implement its 2018 election promise of `1 lakh waiver on crop loans.

Lok Sabha member and TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy has urged Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to respond to the crop losses due to heavy rains in the state, tha concentrate on the byelection to the Huzurabad Assembly constituency.

Reddy wrote an open letter to Rao on Monday and said that the Chief Minister is planning to spend

`3,000 crore to win Huzurabad bypoll, but failed to sanction Rs

1,000 crore to rescue the farmers.

In the seven years of TRS rule, central teams did not take stock of crop damages due to natural calamities, he said.

The TRS government ignored implementation of crop insurance policies, he alleged. Only seven crops were included in the Varsha Bima-2021 scheme being implemented by the National agricultural insurance company, he said, adding that farmers are being forced to pay the premium. He said that the steep hike in diesel prices is having an impact on the agriculture sector. Crop investment has increased 20 per cent due to payment of insurance premiums, escalating diesel prices, and hike in labour charges, he said.

The Congress chief demanded that the government implement its 2018 election promise of `1 lakh waiver on crop loans.

Reddy said that `15,000 per acre compensation should be paid to the rain-hit farmers. Government should restore the insurance policies to the farmers and provide crop insurance coverage from next season, he said. The Rs one lakh crop loanwaiver should be implemented immediately, he said.