Andhra Pradesh   

Raghuveera flays parties for supporting ‘crop holiday'

Revenue Minister N. Raghuveera Reddy addressing a review meeting in Kakinada on Wednesday as Ministers Thota Narasimham and P. Viswaroop look on.

KAKINADA: Dismissing the issue of ‘crop holiday' declared by some farmers in Konaseema as a ‘political fight', Revenue Minister N. Raghuveera Reddy on Wednesday urged political parties not to provoke farmers for their political mileage.

Addressing a review meeting on distribution of loan eligibility cards to tenant farmers here, Mr. Reddy said that the State government did a lot for farmers during the last seven years, when compared to the previous Telugu Desam Party regime.

‘Blackmailing tactics'

“We are not disputing with the fact that there is a lot to do for farmers. But, at the same time blackmailing tactics like announcing a ‘crop holiday', which are backed by some political forces for their political mileage, are condemnable,” he said, adding that the State government spent Rs. 38,000 crore on agriculture last year, whereas the highest amount spent on agriculture during the TDP regime was Rs. 7,320 crore.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the functioning of the Revenue Department, Mr. Reddy said that there was a strong need to strengthen the department from its grassroots.

“The style of functioning of employees should be changed and there is a need to infuse transparency in the functioning of the department,” he said.

Referring to the problems in the department, the Minister said that to overcome the problem of shortage of staff, over 9,000 employees were going to be recruited in a couple of months, in which about 570 new recruits would be placed in East Godavari district.

On issuing loan eligibility cards to tenant farmers, Mr. Reddy said that it was going to be a landmark project in the future, as no other State government dared to take up the project. “It will help us know the status of each and every farmer in the State and the government is able to know the details of tenant farmers,” he said, while ensuring the elected representatives that steps would be taken to protect the interests of land owners and no permanent tenancy rights would be given to tenant farmers in the process of the recognition. Animal Husbandry Minister P. Viswaroop, Stamps and Registrations Minister Thota Narasimham, Zilla Parishad Chairman Ch.S. Venugopala Krishna, officials and elected representatives from the district were present.

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