TS Govt bows to High Court Order on Jowar

Hyderabad: Telangana government on Wednesday issued orders to start procurement of jowar as High Court directed the state to seek immediate procurement of these millets.

Government delayed the procurement by 40 days due to which small and marginal farmers have been forced to sell their crop in the open market. The grain which is dried in the months of summer is up for sale in May. Many farmers want the products to be sold before the onset of rainy season.

Telangana government has today announced that Jowar will be procured at the MSP of Rs. 2,738 per quintal, this year. TS MarkFed has been announced as the nodal agency for procurement. They have also guaranteed Rs. 405.56 crores to TS MarkFed for availing credit facility from banks or any other financial institutions.

Around, 1,31,345 metric tonnes of Jowar are expected to be procured this year.

Rythu Swarajya Vedika (RSV) activist T.Sreeharsha said, "The government has been compelled to take responsibility to ensure MSP to farmers, thanks to the farmers' protests and the Court case by Rythu Swarajya Vedika. Last year too, the government started procurement only after we filed a PIL in the High Court. We hope that the government is more proactive in the future."

RSV state committee member Vissa Kirankumar pointed out that today's G.O. references the letter issued by Markfed on 12th May 2022, and asked, "Why has it taken 40 days for the government to start procurement when Markfed sent its letter on 12th May? The government should have started procurement in the month of May so that the small and marginal farmers are not forced to sell away their crop. At least in the future, the government should proactively implement the Minimum Support Price through timely market intervention and purchase whenever needed."

Background

Telangana High Court on Tuesday issued a notice to the state government to respond to the petition seeking urgent procurement of Jowar by government. The court was hearing a petition filed by S. Boranna, a Jowar farmer in Adilabad and the Rythu Swarajya Vedika, an NGO working on farmers' rights in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on 14 June urging the government to start procuring Jowar from farmers.

In the PIL, petitioners had mentioned how the Jowar farmers are suffering because they are forced to sell their yield at throw away prices due to the government's delay in procurement. The government had announced an MSP of Rs.2,738 per quintal for Jowar this year but the market price still loomed around Rs. 1200-1800 per quintal due to the delay in government intervention in the market. RSV members said that the deficit of more than Rs. 1000 per quintal compared to MSP means that the farmers are facing severe financial loss and becoming severely indebted. Meanwhile, Jowar farmers of Adilabad were protesting against the government's delay in procurement.

In 2021 also, it was only after the High Court order and protests by Jowar farmers in the state that the government started procurement.

Cover pic: Sree Harsha, Kisan Mitra