500 farmers of Telangana met Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel, presented him traditional 'Gongdi'

Farmers from Telangana shared their experiences with Chief Minister after visiting the Gauthans of Chhattisgar

TNINS 

After observing and perusing the development model of Chhattisgarh, farmers of Telangana lauded the farmer-friendly policies and schemes being implemented in Chhattisgarh. 500 farmers from different districts of Telangana state visited Durg and Rajnandgaon districts, where they had a closer look at the ground implementation of various pro-farmer schemes. After the tour, they shared their experiences with Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel at his residence this morning. Representatives of the farmer delegation from Telangana welcomed and felicitated the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh by adorning him with 'Gongdi' and presenting him a model of a bullock cart.

The delegation of farmers from Telangana visited Amlidih Gauthan of Dongargaon development block in Rajnandgaon district and Pulgaon Gauthan of Durg district. They interacted with the farmers, labourers and cow herders of Chhattisgarh and took detailed information about the schemes. Appreciating the sincere efforts of Chhattisgarh Government, representative of the Telangana farmer delegation Mr. Sharad Kumar said that Chhattisgarh Government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel, has made Mahatma Gandhi's vision of Gram Swaraj a reality. Farmers here are flourishing due to the positive steps taken by the government, which includes better price for paddy, procurement of cow dung, promoting organic farming etc. Mr. Sharad Kumar said that this 'pro-farmer model' of 'Bhupesh Sarkar' should be implemented across the country. He further said that the farmer friendly schemes are not only strengthening the farmers but also providing better livelihood opportunities, and we have come here from Telangana to study this model.

    Mr. M. Shiva Veer Reddy, a farmer from Telangana said that Chhattisgarh Government is taking significant steps for welfare of the farmers. Dung procurement scheme of Mr. Bhupesh Baghel is being talked about across the country. Mr. Swami said that I practice animal husbandry myself, and if the schemes like yours were being implemented in our state, I would have praticed it on even larger scale. Mr. Swami said that the schemes being run in Chhattisgarh in the interest of Gauthan, animal husbandry and farmers should be publicized in the entire country through the media so that farmers of other states may also learn about these innovations.

In his address to the program, Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel said that our government is dedicated to bring joy and prosperity in the lives of farmers. He said that during the tenure of the previous government, only 12 lakh farmers used to sell paddy in primary cooperative societies, but today more than 23 lakh farmers are selling paddy in societies and money is getting deposited in their accounts immediately. Chief Minister said that so far more than 26 lakh farmers have been benefited from Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana, MSP of Paddy in Chhattisgarh is the highest in the country, and input subsidy has been a game-changer in the field of agriculture. Chief Minister Mr. Baghel said that this year 107 lakh metric tons of paddy has been procured from 23.5 lakh farmers. Till date, we were procuring paddy from farmers at the rate of 15 quintals per acre, but now we will be procuring 20 quintals per acre paddy on the support price. Our government is procuring 67 types of minor forest produce. We have made systematic arrangements for value addition and sale of these forest produce based products through C Mart. Dung procurement scheme has opened a whole new dimension of livelihood opportunities for people here. 

Chief Minister said that we have written a letter to the Prime Minister seeking permission to produce ethanol from paddy. Responding to the question regarding ongoing schemes for tribals in the state, the Chief Minister said that our government is sensitive towards the interests of tribals and forest dwellers. With the objective to bring prosperity in the lives of tribals, we are procuring minor forest produce at support price, conducting forest produce based livelihood activity and providing them the forest rights lease. Chief Minister Mr. Baghel said that individual forest right certificates have been given to 5 lakh farmers through 'Van Adhikar Patta Yojana', similarly community forest rights have been given to tribals and eligible beneficiaries on more than 18 lakh hectares of land. This also includes ensuring of forest resource rights. Chief Minister also gave detailed information about the loan waiver, the system of paddy procurement at support price, the Bijli Bill Half Yojana, the exemption of electricity to farmers on irrigation pumps up to 5 horse power, the scheme to give the status of agriculture to fisheries and lac cultivation. 

    On this occasion, Mr. Girish Dewangan, Chairman, Mineral Development Corporation, Mr. Vinod Verma, Advisor to Chief Minister, Mr. Nawaz Khan, Chairman, District Central Cooperative Bank Rajnandgaon, Mr. Rajendra Sahu, Chairman, District Central Cooperative Bank Durg, Mr. Tenmar Malanna, Leader of Telangana Farmers' Delegation were also present on the occasion.