Kerala - Kottayam   

Achuthanandan demands steps for paddy procurement

By Our Staff Reporter

KOTTAYAM, FEB. 16 . The Leader of the Opposition, V.S. Achuthanandan, today asked the State Government to direct the Kerala State Civil Supplies

Corporation to make necessary arrangements for procurement of paddy and processed rice through its outlets as a means to help paddy cultivators in the State.

Talking to mediapersons during his visit to the crisis-ridden padasekharams in Kuttanad area, he pointed out that the LDF when in power had followed the policy of directing the State-run agencies to intervene in the paddy sector with success. The State Government, which declared a benchmark price, had the responsibility to ensure that the farmers received remunerative price for the produce, he said.

The Government, which fixed the procurement price at Rs.760 a quintal, had later brought it down to Rs. 740. However, private merchants were ready to give Rs. 450 to Rs. 500 a quintal in the open market. The cooperative banks who had actively entered the procurement operation earlier were finding it difficult to carry on with the operation on two counts, he said. One, they cannot procure at Rs. 740 and sell it at Rs. 450 bearing the huge loss. On the other hand, most of these banks were cash-strapped as the Government had not repaid the arrears it owed as `handling charges'.

In Palakkad, Rs. 4.75 crores was pending while in Thrissur, the pending amount was Rs. 4.25 crores and in Kottayam, Rs. 1 crore, he said. As such, he

said, the Government should immediately repay the arrears in handling charges and also make necessary arrangements to close the gap between procurement price and market price.

Mr. Achuthanandan alleged that the Government had not even paid the financial assistance already declared for the kith and kin of farmers who had committed suicide. More than 1,000 farmers had committed suicide, even though the government put the number at 218, he said. However, the Government has paid only 21 persons that too at the rate of Rs. 50,000 each, he alleged.

According to him, the Central Government had already released Rs.136 crores for paddy farmers and the State Government had failed to use it properly.

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Achuthanandan demands steps for paddy procurement

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