CM lashes out at Centre for ignoring his pleas

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, DEC. 6. Peeved over what he perceives to be unhelpful attitude of Delhi, the Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, faulted the Government of India, the Food Ministry and especially, the FCI, for failing to respond to his repeated pleas to step up procurement of foodgrains and ensure minimum support price (MSP) to farmers.

Mr. Chandrababu Naidu, who made a flying visit to the market yards in Nizamabad and Karimnagar on Wednesday to monitor the pace of procurement, was less than pleased with what he saw and said as much at a news conference in Hyderabad later.

To supplement Government's efforts for a fair deal for farmers, Telugu Desam MPs met the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, in Delhi and reinforced Mr. Naidu's case for speedy action by the Central agencies. The Chief Minister did not spell out Mr. Vajpayee's response, but hoped the Centre would act. ``Our future course of action in Parliament will depend on their response'', he told a questioner.

Mr. Naidu said he had spoken to the Prime Minister in person or on phone more than four times as also to the Union Ministers, Messrs Shanta Kumar, Yashwant Sinha and others in this connection. He had held video-conference with the FCI top brass. The Cabinet sub-committee had also gone to Delhi and pursued the matter with the Prime Minister and the Government of India.

``In spite of all this, it is unfortunate that the Government of India, the Food Ministry and the FCI have not responded so far. I strongly condemn this attitude,'' he noted with anguish.

The Chief Minister said his field visits showed FCI procurement was sluggish and the farmers despondent as they did not get MSP. It was necessary for the FCI to procure paddy. In Nizamabad, paddy buying was ``negligible,'' a mere 2,000 tonnes. So far, paddy procurement stood at mere 3,267 tonnes. Rice purchase, however, was relatively better -- 10.36 lakh tonnes against 5.76 lakh tonnes last year. He likened the FCI sluggishness to ``snail's pace.''

Even while putting pressure on the FCI to step up purchases, all Collectors, joint collectors, revenue divisional officers had been asked to frequently inspect market yards and ensure that farmers got MSP.

He said the FCI should go to the market yards and purchase lots from the farmers instead of setting up shop expecting the farmers to come or buy it from millers. The FCI should enter in a big way and create confidence in the demoralised farming community.

Mr. Naidu said in their meeting with the Prime Minister, the TDP MPs demanded that the FCI should immediately procure 10 lakh tonnes of paddy, move 10 to 12 lakh tonnes of rice from outside the State and extend same facility for export of rice from AP as that given to Punjab to export wheat. Another demand related to Grade A category for Swarna Mashuri variety of rice, which was withdrawn in 1998, or restoration of permission for 10 to 13 per cent admixture in the same variety.

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