Piyush Goyal accuses Telangana government of misleading farmers on rice procurement issue

Union Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday hit out at the Telangana government stating that it was "misleading farmers of the state" on the rice procurement issue and reiterated Centre's commitment to buying the excess stocks as per quality standards from Telangana.

Speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing Parliament Session, Goyal said, "The Central Government stands committed to buy whatever excess stocks are there in Telangana, after their own consumption, in the form of raw rice and as per the quality specified by Food Corporation of India (FCI), as per the MoU with the Centre, as was committed by the state government in writing to the union government."

The minister pointed out that in 2014-15, Rs 3,391 crore was paid as MSP of paddy to farmers of Telangana. However, in KMS 2020-21, the Union government paid Rs 26,610 crores as paddy MSP to the farmers of Telangana.

He also underlined the fact that the Telangana government has yet not shared the amount of raw rice that will be provided to the Central Pool during the current Rabi crop.

"I feel sorry to inform you that the Centre has been asking Telangana to come forward on this issue and inform how much raw rice they will be giving to the Central Pool. They have not provided any details in this regard," Goyal said.

The Union Minister also briefed about the rice procurement process. He said that the Centre procures the rice based on the consumption pattern and demand of various states.

( With inputs from ANI )