Telangana’s cultivated area nearly doubled in 9 yrs: Govt

Hyderabad The total area under cultivation in Telangana increased from 1.31 crore to 2.20 crore acres, while paddy production rose from 68 lakh metric tonnes to 2.7 crore metric tonnes during the last nine years, the State government has said.

With the implementation of pro-farmer initiatives like free electricity to agriculture, 'Rythu Bandhu' investment support scheme, farm loan waiver and construction of irrigation projects, the agriculture sector has seen rapid progress, it said in a release.

In order to fully utilise the water from the Godavari and Krishna rivers, projects such as Sriram Sagar Project flood canal which was left incomplete and Kaleswaram, Palamuru-Ranga Reddy irrigation projects were undertaken.

The government has spent Rs 1.59 lakh crore from 2014 till now for the construction of irrigation projects. The Kaleshwaram project was completed in record time while Rs 5,249 crore was spent under Mission Kakatiya programme to revive ponds of the erstwhile Kakatiya era, a press release said.

The cultivated area in 2014 was 1.31 crore acres and by 2022-23, it went up to 2.20 crore acres. In 2014-15, paddy grain production was only 68 lakh tonnes, but by 2022-23, it reached a record level of about 2.70 crore tonnes. Cotton yield was 35.83 lakh bales in 2014-15 and 63.97 lakh bales by 2020-22, it said.

Besides, the government is providing free 24x7 electricity for agricultural purpose. The 'Rythu Bandhu' investment support scheme is being implemented to protect the farmers from the clutches of moneylenders. Through the 'Rythu Bandhu' scheme, Rs 10,000 per acre per year has been deposited into the farmers' accounts. In the last 10 phases, Rs 65,190 crore has been deposited to agriculturists, it added.