Southern States - Tamil Nadu

TNCSC taluk godowns stop paddy purchase

By S. Vydhianathan

CHENNAI April 15. With the Government firm on closing procurement operation in delta districts, all taluk godowns of the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation stopped purchasing paddy from farmers from this evening.

However, officials agreed to purchase paddy from farmers, who had brought their stock to the godowns earlier in the day, and they were given tokens.

After the sudden closure of about 950 direct purchase centres in the middle of last month despite opposition from the farmers, the taluk godowns started purchasing paddy from them.

In the last one month, the godowns purchased about 70,000 tonnes as against about 9.5 lakh tonnes of paddy procured by the DPCs since the start of the current season. As of now, the Corporation has a stock of about 9.5 lakh tonnes of paddy and 2.5 lakh tonnes of rice.

With a monthly Central allotment of about 1.25 lakh tonnes of rice, the stock with the Corporation is more than sufficient for the next one year. Now the offtake under the Public Distribution System is of the order of 1.85 lakh tonnes, according to official sources.

Meanwhile, farmers appealed to the Government to keep open the taluk godowns for at least one more month to enable them to sell their stock. As private traders were not ready to offer more than Rs. 300 a quintal, the taluk godowns were the only source, where the farmers could get a remunerative price.

The farmers pointed out that at the maximum there would about two lakh tonnes of paddy with them. The Government would not have to incur a heavy expenditure for purchasing the available stock.

Moreover, with a poor storage in the Mettur reservoir, the prospect of the next kuruvai crop in the delta districts was bleak.

So there would not be much of surplus kuruvai stock.

Taking this factor into consideration, the Government should continue to purchase paddy at least for one more month to avert the prospect of farmers resorting to distress sale, they said.

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