Amassed paddy stocks at Delta DPCs will be cleared in 2 days: Minister Govi Chezhiaan

CHENNAI: The paddy stocks piled up in front of the Direct Procurement Centres (DPCs) will be transported to godowns within two days, and the government is actively monitoring issues concerning the DPCs, and timely measures will be taken, said Minister Govi Chezhiaan on Tuesday.

Speaking to the reporters on the sidelines of inaugurating the Chief Minister’s Thayumanavar scheme in Thanjavur, the minister said, as many as 4,082 differently abled and 38,465 elderly people in Thanjavur district will benefit through the scheme.

The programme kick-started in Tiruvidaimarudur constituency, where the number of beneficiaries stands at 7,000 persons, the minister noted.

Stating that the paddy cultivation this year surpassed the previous year due to the government assistance and the favourable climatic conditions, the minister highlighted that the unexpected large quantity of harvest resulted in the accumulation of stocks in the DPCs across the Delta region and the process of transporting the procured paddy to the rice mills got delayed. “The amassed paddy stocks would be transported within two days,” assured the minister.

Pacifying the farmers who lost their paddy owing to the heavy rains, the minister said, the government is actively monitoring the functioning of the DPCs across the state, particularly in the Delta region, and the issues regarding the DPCs would be solved at the earliest, the minister said.

Meanwhile, Govi Chezhiaan charged that the bill on the Kalaignar University was sent to the Governor for his approval, but he had sent it to the President. “This is just to delay the process. As the governor is not interested in the State’s development, he has been acting against the interests of Tamil Nadu, and this is another example,” the minister said. He expressed hope that the President would approve the bill and that the university would be established in Kumbakonam. Later, the minister inaugurated an open-air DPC at Orathanadu in Thanjavur.