Centre Maintains Its Stance on Paddy Procurement From Telangana

The Centre has refused to bend on its stance on Telangana paddy procurement, maintaining that it will not buy parboiled rice from the state during the Yasangi season. The Union government also refused to take into account the State's desire for a raw rice purchase objective for Yasangi. 

On Friday, in response to a question from TRS floor leader K Keshava Rao in the Rajya Sabha, Union Food and Public Distribution Minister Piyush Goyal stated categorically that the amount of raw rice that the Centre was willing to purchase during the Yasangi season could not be determined until the Vaanakalam procurement was completed. 

TRS members staged a walk out of the Upper House after being dissatisfied with the Union Minister's response. Piyush Goyal attempted to absolve himself by blaming the State government, claiming that it was not keeping adequate records and not supplying rice in accordance with the agreement, despite TRS MPs claiming that the Centre was not providing clarification on the procurement of parboiled rice. 

The Telangana government, according to the Union Minister, is procuring paddy directly from farmers, storing and distributing the procured Custom Milled Rice (CMR) under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), and other welfare initiatives. Only the surplus CMR was delivered to Food Corporation of India (FCI) for central pool account for supply to other States after covering the State's demands. 

In a follow-up question, Keshava Rao questioned Goyal if the Union government intends to buy the entire Telangana rice crop, regardless of type. He claimed that Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy had already given the answer in the news report, where he indicated that as Union Minister, he would guarantee that the Centre procured every grain of rice from Telangana. "Does the government intend to follow through on this statement?" We're talking about anything we have left. You took 94.54 lakh tonnes last year,” he said. 

Piyush Goyal, on the other hand, pretended to be unaware and stated that Telangana had stated that it would no longer provide parboiled rice to the FCI. He claimed that the central government's purchase target had been steadily increasing year after year. Telangana supplied the Centre with 51.9 lakh tonnes in 2018-19, which was enhanced to 74.54 lakh tonnes in 2019-20 and 94.54 lakh tonnes in 2020-21. 

"I'm not sure about the other statements mentioned." This is the most farmer-friendly government in the world. Telangana is fusing the past and the future together. According to the agreements, we would acquire rice supplies from Telangana," the Union Minister stated.