Overview
- The state government says it has purchased 46.21 lakh metric tonnes of paddy from 54.29 LMT of arrivals and credited about ₹7,841 crore to farmers, a tally officials describe as roughly 85% of arrivals.
- Opposition parties dispute those numbers against an estimated 141 LMT total production and say actual procurement is far lower, citing calculations that put purchases at about 24% to 35% of total crop.
- Political pressure has escalated with BRS leader K. T. Rama Rao demanding a white paper and Rs 25 lakh ex‑gratia for bereaved families, and TRS president K. Kavitha staging a dharna and being detained during protests.
- Farmers and opposition reports point to concrete operational failures at procurement centres, including shortages of gunny bags, labourers and trucks, alleged arbitrary weight deductions, delays in lifting stocks and rain-damaged grain forced into distress sales.
- A state cabinet meeting scheduled for May 23 will be watched for remedial orders as parties plan inspections of procurement centres and protests, and the outcome could determine immediate purchases, payments and any compensation measures.