Agriculture Minister Atchannaidu rebuts YSRCP charge on crop loss compensation to farmers

Agriculture Minister K. Atchannaidu on Thursday said in the Legislative Council that while the previous YSRCP government reduced crop compensation for farmers from ₹17,000 to ₹12,000 per hectare, the TDP-led coalition government increased it to ₹25,000 per hectare for farmers who suffered losses in the Budameru floods.

The Minister was responding to an allegation made by YSR Congress Party MLC M. Arun Kumar that farmers who suffered crop losses due to natural calamities had not received compensation and that they had incurred heavy losses because the government failed to pay crop insurance premia.

Mr. Atchannaidu also accused the previous government of not paying the State’s share for three years under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and said the NDA government had reintroduced the scheme.

On the issue of losses to coffee plantations in Araku Valley, the Minister said the government had taken special measures to control the spread of coffee berry disease. Due to timely monitoring and preventive measures, only 60.8 hectares of plantations were affected and a compensation of ₹7.23 lakh was paid to 81 farmers who suffered losses in 152 acres, he informed.

Rythu Seva Kendras

Replying to a question on the construction of Rythu Seva Kendras, Minister for Civil Supplies, Food and Consumer Affairs Nadendla Manohar said that out of 10,216 centres planned across the State, 5,346 had been completed and handed over to the Agriculture Department.

He said another 31 centres would be completed soon, while 2,057 centres were at various stages of construction. Mr. Manohar said the previous government had not allocated sufficient funds for construction of the centres, which resulted in the project cost escalation from ₹282 crore to ₹502 crore.

Employment generation

Replying to questions on employment generation, Minister for Transport, Sports and Youth Affairs M. Ramprasad Reddy said the TDP-led coalition had created 6,28,347 jobs in the State and provided 30,607 government jobs after it came to power.

The Minister said granting of industrial status to the tourism sector attracted several projects and reiterated that the government’s goal was to create 20 lakh jobs in the State.

The Council approved two Bills earlier passed by the Legislative Assembly — the Andhra Pradesh Fire Services (Amendment) Bill-2026 and the Andhra Pradesh Jan Vishwas (Amendment) Bill-2006.

TTD Chairman issue

The beginning of the Council session was anything but smooth with the YSRCP members resorting to a protest after the Chairman rejected an adjournment motion moved by MLCs Thumati Madhava Rao, Varudu Kalyani and Bharat, demanding the removal of the TTD Board Chairman over alleged irregularities.

The YSRCP members raised slogans at the podium insisting that the issue be discussed in the House. Despite the protest, the Chairman continued with the Question Hour and later adjourned the House briefly as the agitation continued.