Setting records procuring 1.96 cr MT paddy in 4 years, Minister Sakkarapani rebuts opposition

DINDIGUL: Tamil Nadu Food and Civil Supplies Minister R Sakkarapani has refuted the opposition AIADMK's charge on meagre paddy procurement and said the state government procured 1.96 crore metric tonnes of paddy in 54 months.

Dismissing AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami’s accusations as "lies", he said the leader of the Opposition was providing false information on the paddy procurement scenario.

He was giving the impression as if only during the previous AIADMK rule, the food grain was procured from the farmers in large quantities, the Minister said.

"During the decade of AIADMK rule, the government had procured only 1.80 crore MT of paddy but from 2021, when the DMK came to power, to this date, the state government has procured 1.96 crore MT of paddy,” Sakkarapani told reporters here on Friday.

Also, he asserted that Palaniswami had said that the Centre had granted permission to procure paddy from August 18. “We asked him for the circular issued by the Union Government, but we have not received a response so far from him," Sakkarapani said and accused the former chief minister of spreading a false information campaign.

Sakkarapani, who represented the Oddanchatram constituency in Dindigul district, further said that paddy was being procured from 183 direct procurement centres (DPCs) across Tamil Nadu that functioned even on Sundays for the benefit of farmers.

"In fact, there has been a surplus paddy harvest in various places in Tamil Nadu. We are currently paying higher rates than what was given during the previous AIADMK rule,” the Minister added.

After visiting the rain-hit districts where paddy crop was submerged, recently, Palaniswami alleged that it was a "tearful" Diwali for farmers as the harveChennai: Asserting that Tamil Nadu has achieved an unprecedented record in paddy procurement this kuruvai season, Food and Civil Supplies Minister R Sakkarapani on Friday rebuked Leader of the Opposition and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami for spreading "baseless and misleading" claims about procurement data.

Despite clear official records demonstrating exceptional progress under Chief Minister MK Stalin's agricultural development initiatives, the AIADMK leader is spreading lies, the minister said.

The State has registered a historic achievement in paddy procurement this kuruvai season, with the Delta districts recording cultivation over 6.13 lakh acres and the procurement of 11.78 lakh metric tonnes of paddy within 60 days, he added. The State government has credited Rs 2,801 crore directly to the bank accounts of 1.59 lakh farmers, minister Sakkarapani pointed out.

Countering Palaniswami's criticism, the minister said that the Opposition leader continued to "repeat half-baked facts" without verifying official records. "Every year, the policy note tabled in the Assembly includes data only till March 31. Procurement continues till August 31, and those figures are later consolidated," he clarified in a statement.

Listing the DMK regime's performance, Sakkarapani said that from 2021–22 to 2025–26, a total of 1.96 crore metric tonnes of paddy had been procured, benefiting lakhs of farmers across Tamil Nadu. He also dismissed as "outright lies" the claims by Palaniswami and Anbumani Ramadoss that procurement had stopped in northern districts. "In Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur alone, 52,458 MT and 63,779 MT have been procured so far, 2.5 times higher than last year," he noted.

The minister added that the State has extended procurement hours up to 8 pm, opened centres even on Sundays, and deployed additional machinery to accelerate operations. He further said that a proposal had been sent to the Union government to increase the permissible moisture content in paddy from 17% to 22%, ensuring better returns for farmers.

"Instead of peddling misinformation, the Opposition should acknowledge the State's sincere commitment to farmers' welfare," Sakkarapani added.sted paddy remained only to get ruined due to the rain as it was not procured on time.