Agriculture Minister K. Atchannaidu. | Photo credit: File Photo
Agriculture Minister K. Atchannaidu said in the Legislative Council on Thursday that while the previous YSRCP government had reduced crop compensation for farmers from ₹17,000 to ₹12,000 per hectare, the TDP-led coalition government had increased it to ₹25,000 per hectare for farmers who suffered losses in the Budamer floods.
The Minister was reacting to claims by YSR Congress MLC M. Arun Kumar that farmers who suffered crop losses due to natural calamities were not compensated and that they suffered heavy losses as the government did not pay crop insurance premiums.
Mr. Atchannaidu also accused the previous government of not paying the state share under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana for three years and said the NDA government had reintroduced the scheme.
On the issue of losses in coffee plantations in Araku Valley, the minister said that the government has 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 compensation of ₹ 7.23 lakh was paid to 81 farmers who suffered losses in 152 acres, he informed.
Rythu Seva Kendras
Civil Supplies, Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Nadendla Manohar replied to a question regarding the construction of Rythu Seva Kendras that out of 10,216 planned centers across the state, 5,346 have been completed and handed over to the Agriculture Department.
He said another 31 centers would be completed soon while 2,057 centers were under various stages of construction. Mr Manohar said the previous government had not allocated sufficient funds for the construction of the centres, leading to the escalation of the project cost from ₹282 crore to ₹502 crore.
Employment creation
Transport, Sports and Youth Affairs Minister M Ramprasad Reddy said in response to questions on job generation that the TDP-led coalition had created 6,28,347 jobs in the state and provided 30,607 government posts after coming to power.
The minister said that granting industrial status to the tourism sector has attracted several projects and reiterated that the government aimed to create 20 million jobs in the state.
The Council passed two bills that were 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 problem
The start of the Council meeting was anything but smooth as YSRCP members resorted to protest after the Speaker rejected an adjournment motion moved by MLCs Thumati Madhava Rao, Varudu Kalyani and Bharat seeking the removal of the TTD board chairman over alleged irregularities.
The YSRCP members raised slogans on the dais and insisted that the issue be discussed in the House. Despite the protest, the Speaker continued with Question Hour and later adjourned the House briefly as the agitation continued.
Published – 05 March 2026 20:23 IST
