YSRCP, Left parties flay govt.’s ‘flawed approach’ to BC reservation issue
Following High Court striking down 34% BC quota, leaders of the opposition parties accuse State govt. of not trying for a Constitutional amendment in spite of being aware of legal hurdles in crossing 50% overall ceiling
Agriculture Minister K. Atchannaidu on Thursday criticized former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy for the reduction in subsidies on chickpea and green manure seeds during the YSRCP regime from 2019 to 2024. Atchannaidu questioned why the subsidy on chickpea seeds, which was 50% in 2018-19, was cut to 30% and later to 25%. He also inquired about the decrease in the subsidy on green manure seeds from 75% under the TDP regime to 50% during the YSRCP government.
The current coalition government increased the chickpea seed subsidy from 25% to 35%, he stated. Meanwhile, the average annual supply of chickpea seeds dropped from 3.20 lakh quintals in 2014-19 to 1.55 lakh quintals between 2019-24. The government aimed to boost chickpea seed supply to 2.50 lakh quintals by 2026-27, Atchannaidu added.
Furthermore, the allocation for chickpea seed subsidies rose from ₹29 crore earlier to ₹78.75 crore in the current fiscal year, he claimed. He accused the previous government of leaving around ₹477 crore in arrears to seed supply agencies between 2019 and 2023 and demanded an explanation from Jagan Mohan Reddy regarding this matter. The present government allocated ₹240 crore for the seed subsidy and added an additional ₹109 crore, bringing the total to approximately ₹348 crore.
Contingency seeds were being distributed at an 80% subsidy, and 40,000 quintals had already reached Rythu Seva Kendras. Efforts were underway to supply the remaining quantity, the Minister explained.
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