CM Revanth seeks Centre's help to tackle El Nino effect

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has urged Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to support Telangana state in tackling the agrarian crisis amidst the El Nino effect. The Chief Minister, accompanied by Ministers Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and Tummala Nageshwara Rao as well as Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju, met with the Union Minister here on Friday.

During the meeting, the Chief Minister apprised Chouhan of the impact of El Nino phenomenon, including increased power consumption in the farming sector due to deficient rainfall. He briefed the Minister on advance plans prepared by the state government to address the drinking water and power crisis. The important measure of encouraging farmers to go for alternative crops in the light of El Nino conditions was discussed in the meeting.

The Chief Minister urged Chauhan to extend the Centre's cooperation to support the farming community in crop diversification. Revanth Reddy highlighted the farmer friendly steps taken by the state government, mainly the payment of a bonus of Rs 500 per quintal for paddy yielding fine variety rice, establishment of a fruits and vegetables market spanning 250 acres as per international standards and supply of fine quality rice to the poor through the public distribution system, billed as the first-of-its-kind initiative anywhere in the country.

The Chief Minister thanked the Union Minister for allocating two lakh houses to the state in the first phase under the PMAY-G scheme. The Chief Minister had previously submitted a representation to the Union Minister in Delhi last July requesting the sanction of houses for 11,56,915 eligible rural families. The Chief Minister requested Chouhan to allocate the remaining 9.56 lakh houses in accordance with the state's demand.

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The Hans India