Vexed social forestry planters in Prakasam district seek government intervention
The Hindu
Social forestry planters, who had been struggling to get a fair price for the subabul and eucalyptus logs for a long time, had a ray of hope when a noted integrated pulp, paper and paper board Mill from Erode in Tamil Nadu came to buy the logs for an attractive price in Chimakurthy of the drought-prone Prakasam district.
Social forestry planters, who had been struggling to get a fair price for the subabul and eucalyptus logs for a long time, had a ray of hope when a noted integrated pulp, paper and paper board Mill from Erode in Tamil Nadu came to buy the logs for an attractive price in Chimakurthy of the drought-prone Prakasam district.
However, their happiness was short-lived as local brokers, who have tie-ups with some paper mills in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, prevented them from moving the logs by truck to Pallipalayam in Erode.
A group of farmers poured out their woes to a delegation of Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangam (APRS) leaders who visited the social forestry plantations in and around Chimakurthy on Thursday.
‘’We backed the ruling YSR Congress Party in 2019 going by its promise to ensure a remunerative price of ₹5,000 per tonne to the logs. After coming to power, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has been indifferent to our plight, and as a result, the price has plummeted to ₹1,000 per tonne,” said Muvva Malakondaiah, a social forestry planter.
The previous Telugu Desam Party Government had brokered an agreement with the paper mill representatives and arrived at a price of ₹4000 per tonne for subabul and ₹4,200 per tonne for eucalyptus, he recalled.
There had been a dip in the price of logs during the YSRCP regime as it failed to intervene, complained another farmer Muvva Mahendra.