The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Samba paddy procurement in full swing in delta districts

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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Samba paddy procurement in full swing in delta districts

Special Correspondent

TNCSC has so far procured about 4.20 lakh tonnes in the current season

Maximum procurement of 1.68 lakh tonnes is in Tiruvarur district
Thanjavur accounts for 1.23 lakh tonnes and Nagapattinam 95,000 tonnes

CHENNAI: Procurement of samba paddy is in full swing in the Delta districts. The Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC), procurement agency for the Food Corporation of India (FCI), has so far procured about 4.20 lakh tonnes in the current samba season.

On an average direct purchase centres in the districts are purchasing about 28,000 tonnes per day. If the current trend continues, the corporation will achieve the target of 16.5 lakh tonnes in the samba season which will come to an end by April.

The maximum procurement was in Tiruvarur district with 1.68 lakh tonnes, followed by Thanjavur with 1.23 lakh tonnes and Nagapattinam 95,000 tonnes. A few taluks in Cuddalore and Pudukottai districts which also come under delta procurement account for 20,000 tonnes.

As the price offered by the corporation is higher than the open market price, farmers preferred the DPCs. The corporation is paying Rs. 825 per quintal for fine varieties and Rs. 795 per quintal for common varieties, including an incentive of Rs. 50 per quintal announced by the State Government as against Rs. 750 per quintal in the open market. After the Tamil Nadu Government wrote to the Central Government, the moisture was allowed up to 20 per cent and damaged, discoloured and shrunken grains up to 5 per cent, according to an official of the corporation.

He said soon all DPCs in the Delta districts would have electronic weighing machines, which would avoid complaints against short-weighing by farmers. About 1,100 electronic machines were to be purchased by the corporation and already 700 machines arrived. Before the month-end a majority of the DPCs would have electronic machines.

The official said the DPCs had been provided sufficient cash to purchase paddy from the farmers and enough gunny bags.

However, Arupathy Kalyanam, general secretary of the Federation of Farmers’ Association, struck a discordant note. He said though the corporation was purchasing paddy at Rs. 825 and Rs. 795 per quintal for fine and common varieties respectively, farmers were losing at least Rs. 40 per every quintal. They were forced to give 2 to 3 kg more paddy for every quintal of paddy sold to the DPCs. This apart, the DPC staff were “forcibly deducting at least Rs. 20 per quintal,” citing various reasons. When they brought it to the notice of district officials, they were asked to give specific complaint. The officials were not ready to make surprise checks. Farmer associations had been demanding tripartite meeting of corporation employees’ union, officials and farmers to prevent corruption in DPCs. But the Government was not ready to convene such a meeting. The federation had planned to file a PIL in this connection.

Farmers already lost Rs. 400 crore due to heavy rains in December and the total compensation given was a mere Rs. 44 crore. He wanted the Government to intervene and do justice to the farmers.

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