Hyderabad: Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Tuesday hit back at BRS leader T Harish Rao over his allegations related to paddy procurement. Sharing official statistics, the minister urged the former Irrigation Minister to stop, what he termed, a ‘daily campaign of falsehoods.’

Addressing Harish Rao on X social media platform, Uttam Kumar shared a comparative chart showing a sharp increase in paddy procurement during the current Rabi season. “Harish Rao Garu, please see these comparative procurement figures of this year and stop stating falsehoods on every issue every single day!” he wrote tagging Harish Rao on X.

The data shared by the Minister revealed that the Telangana government had procured 43.10 lakh metric tonnes (LMTs) of paddy during the ongoing Rabi 2024–25 season, up to May 12. This marked a significant increase compared to 29.88 LMTs procured during the same period in the previous Rabi season (2023–24) and 19.62 LMTs in 2022–23.

The figures indicated a nearly 44 per cent jump over last year and more than a 120 per cent rise compared to two years ago, reflecting the current administration’s proactive procurement efforts.

Uttam Kumar asserted that the Congress government had established more procurement centres and streamlined operations to benefit farmers directly. He said that the government’s commitment to ensuring Minimum Support Price (MSP), the payment of Rs 500 bonus per quintal for fine-quality paddy, and timely procurement had brought relief to paddy cultivators across Telangana.

The Minister highlighted Telangana’s record-breaking performance in paddy production. He said that in the Vanakalam season, 153.5 lakh metric tonnes of paddy were produced across 66.7 lakh acres, while the ongoing Yasangi crop covered 55 lakh acres, yielding another 127 lakh metric tonnes. He said, “Telangana had thus produced a total of 280 LMT of paddy in one agricultural year - a historic achievement not only in the state’s history but also across the country. This rare and extraordinary feat in India’s agricultural landscape was achieved despite the collapse of the Kaleshwaram Project.”