The formation of the Turmeric Board boosted morale among Telangana's farmers, who hoped for better prices. The board's creation, long demanded and delayed, became a significant sentiment, influencing political careers in the region
Published Feb 04, 2025 | 8:00 AM ⚊ Updated Feb 04, 2025 | 12:35 PM
Turmeric leaves. (Supplied)
Synopsis: The Turmeric Board in Telangana, a long-awaited move for farmers, lost momentum when no budget allocation was made for it. While BJP officials assured funds through the Union commerce ministry, the BRS criticised the lack of a dedicated allocation. Farmers, who had high hopes for the board to improve turmeric prices, expressed frustration as the board’s operations continue without full infrastructure support.
The euphoria over the announcement of the formation of the Turmeric Board, the long-cherished dream of the turmeric farmers of Telangana, fizzled out after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made no allocation for it in the national budget.
The Bharat Rastra Samithi on studying the fine print of the budget said the BJP had pulled a fast one over the state’s turmeric farmers; the state unit of the BJP rushed to clarify that allocation would be made for the board through the Union Ministry of Commerce.
Turmeric Board chairman Palle Ganga Reddy told South First that the required funds for infrastructure and operations would be made available through the allocations already made to the Union Commerce Ministry.
“There is no need to worry about funds. We need ₹50 crore immediately as seed capital, besides funding for infrastructure. At the moment we are running the board in a rented building in Nizamabad,” Ganga Reddy said.
He explained that the government had not yet identified land for building an office for the board, which is meant to help turmeric farmers add value to their products.
“Nizamabad market gets turmeric from Nizamabad district as well as parts of the erstwhile Adilabad district like Nirmal and Mudhole, and also part of the erstwhile Karimnagar district. The board would be a great help for farmers to get better prices since it would help them add value to their products,” he said.
He was profusely thankful to the BJP-led NDA at the Centre for sanctioning the board for Nizamabad, even though the highest production of turmeric in the country was from Maharashtra.
The BRS, however, was not convinced. Kalvakuntla Kavitha, who fought for the setting up of the board when she was a member of Lok Sabha between 2014 and 2019, said the centre had allocated funds for Rubber, Spices, Tea and Coffee boards; it had not allocated funds for the Turmeric Board.
In a statement on X, the former MP asked what the BJP was patting itself for when no fund allocation had been made for the Turmeric Board – so what if the board would be located in Nizamabad?
The board came into operation on 14 January, when the Centre nominated BJP state secretary Palle Ganga Reddy as its chairman.
The formation of the board was great for the morale of turmeric farmers, who anticipated support in procuring better prices for their produce.
For turmeric farmers in Telangana, the formation of the Turmeric Board had become a matter of sentiment — the need for a separate board for turmeric was felt sorely, and the public demand for it, and the delay in setting it up, had seen the making and unmaking of MPs.
When K Kavitha, daughter of former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, lost her Lok Sabha seat in the general elections of 2019, many observers attributed it to her inability to get the Turmeric Board set up.
BJP’s Arvind Dharmapuri, who suddenly came into the limelight, won the elections on the promise of delivering on the Turmeric Board.
He distributed copies of signed bond papers to farmers on the eve of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, stating that he would resign as MP if the Turmeric Board did not come up in Nizamabad months after his election.
Angry with their then MP Kavitha for her failure to get the Turmeric Board, turmeric farmers filed nominations en masse and campaigned against her.
The general public also appeared to be swayed by the opinion that there was “complicity between the BJP and the Congress”. That had closed the doors of the Lok Sabha for her.
The proposal to set up a turmeric board was first made over ten years ago; ahead of assembly elections in Telangana in 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised that the board would be set up in Nizamabad.
On 14 January, 2025, BJP state secretary and turmeric farmer Palle Ganga Reddy was appointed chairman of the Turmeric Board for a period of three years.
Less than 24 hours after appointing Palle Ganga Reddy the chairman, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal inaugurated the board virtually.
The board was expected to cater to turmeric growers in 20 states in the country, including Telangana, Maharashtra, and Karnataka.
In the absence of a full-fledged board and with no mechanism to ensure a better price for the turmeric, farmers from Telangana have been taking their produce to Sangli in Maharashtra to get a better price.
BJP leader and MP Arvind Dharmapuri, unable to get the Centre to announce the formation of the board during his first five-year tenure as Member of Parliament, tried to appease farmers with the second-best option – in February 2020, the Spices Board opened a regional office in Nizamabad. That, however, did not satisfy irate farmers.
By the time the 2024 Lok Sabha elections arrived, Kavitha opted out, making way for BRS leader Bajireddy Govardhan, who finished third. BJP’s Arvind Dharmapuri won the elections again.
Dharmapuri had earlier contested the 2023 Assembly polls and lost to BRS candidate Dr K Sanjay.
Soon after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman read out a budget speech in Parliament, Dr K Sanjay, finding that there was no allocation for the board in the national budget, posted a meme on social media saying that Arvind Dharmapuri had pulled the wool over the eyes of the state’s turmeric farmers.
The Turmeric Board chairman had earlier claimed that it would offer facilities for farmers to add value to their produce and aid in enhanced exports.
Budget allocations
“The board will have a research wing exclusively to help farmers add value to their produce and get a handsome price at the Nizamabad market. The dependence on the Sangli market in Maharashtra for better prices might also come down,” the Turmeric Board chairman said.
It is unclear whether the omission in the Union budget is an oversight or a deliberate act. Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri did not respond to calls from South First seeking clarification.
(Edited by Rosamma Thomas)
