CM Jayalaithaa takes paddy growers on e-route

Direct purchase centres (DPC) procuring paddy will be provided with e-procurement facilities at an estimated cost of Rs 13.48 crore, Jayalalithaa said. Making the announcement under Sec.110 of the legislative assembly rules, she said, “this will end farmers’ complaints of under weighment, delayed payment, partial payment and prolonged wait at DPCs.” To enable e-procurement, DPCs would be provided with point of sale machines, computers, printers and electronic weighing scales, the Chief Minister added. An SMS would be sent to farmers on the time and date they should bring their produce to the DPC, Jayalalithaa said. 

To ensure availability of rice to the public distribution system (PDS) and to reduce delays and save on transport cost, the government plans to set up an integrated modern rice mill (MRM) of 30,000 tonnes hulling capacity at an estimated Rs.20 crore in Valangaiman taluk of Tiruvarur district, Jayalalithaa added. Of the 165 godowns with 6.88 lakh tonnes capacity costing Rs.739 crore to store food planned over five years, 106 godowns with 2.49 lakh tonne capacity, had been completed, the Chief Minister said. 

The 50,000 metric tonne capacity silo to store paddy at a cost of Rs.58.48 crore proposed at the Erukur MRM in Nagapattinam district, would end the problem of paddy stored in the open being damaged by weather, pests and rodents, she added. To augment the capacity of TN Warehousing Corporation, the government is currently building 14 godowns, Jayalalithaa said. Godowns with 16, 600 tonnes capacity estimated at Rs.18.50 crore were planned at Arakonam, Namakkal, Ambasamudram, Manamadurai and Cuddalore to benefit, farmers and traders, she said. On the cooperative front, 79 cooperatives would be modernised, she said.