BRS working president and Minister K T Rama Rao said on Thursday said that farmers' income cannot be doubled by “dialogues and jumlas (empty promises)," in a reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s earlier promises.

Listing out the development that Telangana has achieved in the past 10 years, while giving a presentation titled ‘Trailblazer Telangana’, Rama Rao said that despite problems, the state has made great progress inside of a decade, and now has the highest per capita income in the country.

He also highlighted that Telangana is one of the fastest-growing states in terms of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).

"The Prime Minister talks about doubling farmers' income. Farmers' income will not be doubled by dialogues. Farmers' income will not be doubled by jumlas.

"If the farmer income is to be doubled, agriculture and allied sectors also have to be supported. This is exactly what Telangana has done,” he said.

He further said that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had constructed Kaleshwaram and other irrigation projects at a cost of Rs 1.70 lakh crore with a vision of helping Telangana overcome drought -- and has been successful in that aim.

Coming down heavily on opposition parties for "politicising" the sinking of the Meddigadda Barrage piers, he said engineering issues do occur in projects, and pointed to alleged problems with the Dowleswaram Barrage, Prakasam Barrage, Nagarjunasagar, and even Srisailam project in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

He said the contracting agency had announced that all the repair works on Meddigadda Barrage would be taken up, without putting any burden on the state exchequer.

“Politics will continue even after December 3 but opposition parties should not mislead people and defame the government,” Rama Rao said.

In paddy production, Telangana was ranked 14 but today it has surpassed Punjab and Haryana, the minister said, adding that the acreage increased from 131 lakh acres in 2014 to 268 lakh acres in 2023.

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