HYDERABAD: Telangana Finance Minister T Harish Rao said that the state government would release Rs 1,198‌ crores to waive off the crop loans of 5.8 lakh farmers within two working days. This money will be directly deposited into the accounts of all the eligible farmers, said the minister.

He said that the state government would waive off loans in a single installment, if the amount is less Rs 25,000 or less while the loans of Rs 1 lakh would be waived off in four phases as part of the crop loan waiver scheme.

Harish Rao formally launched the construction works of the Kondapochamma Sagar Canal in Nizampet. Speaking to the media on this occasion, Harish Rao said that there were no fresh COVID-19 cases reported in Medchal–Malkajgiri district, and it would soon be classified as a green zone.

Even though the number of cases in the state has come down, he urged people to exercise utmost caution by strictly confining themselves to their homes for a few more days. The minister asked people to follow all the lockdown measures like physical distancing and wearing face masks.

He said that the state government is taking all measures to support farmers by providing MSP during this crisis time. He lampooned opposition parties BJP and Congress for unnecessarily politicising the issue.

The Telangana government is buying a quintal of rice for Rs 1,835 while the BJP government in Karnataka is buying the same for Rs 1,300. He also sought to draw a comparison with the price in Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh. Harish Rao said that the Chhattisgarh state government is only providing Rs 1,200 for a quintal of rice.

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