Every DPC procures about 1,000 bags of paddy daily, time extended by two hours: Tamil Nadu government

About 1,000 bags of paddy are being procured in each of the Direct Procurement Centres (DPCs) every day and the procurement time has been extended by two hours till 8 p.m., the Tamil Nadu government said in an official release. An additional 127 POP machines have been employed in 13 districts with high procurement.

Since there was more paddy produced for procurement, direct procurement centres were functioning on Sunday too, said the statement which listed out the efforts underway to procure paddy from farmers, especially in the Cauvery delta region.

As on October 19, about 5,510 MT of paddy have been procured. Over 57.63 lakh gunny bags and 58 MT of jute twine and over 28,800 tarpaulin sheets were in the reserve in the Cauvery delta region, the Tamil Nadu government said. About 2.65 crore gunny bags were available across the State.

Since the produce was high in Tiruvarur district, a total of 20 teams has been constituted to ensure prompt movement of paddy from direct procurement centres. About 35,000 MT of paddy was being moved to warehouses in about 4,000 lorries and on 13 to 15 trains every day.

Additional workforce has been deputed to Tiruvarur district to aid in the procurement. The procurement process was on since September 1 to benefit farmers. Since September 1, 10.40 MT of paddy have been procured through 1,843 direct procurement centres, the relelase said.

Of the 10.40 lakh MT procured, 8.77 lakh MT have been moved to other districts, and 1.63 MT have been stored safely in direct procurement centres. About 53,831 MT in Tiruvarur district, 23,125 MT in Thanjavur district, 16,793 MT in Mayiladuthurai district and 21,537 MT in Nagapattinam district are to be moved from direct procurement centres.

Since October 21, about 7,000 MT on four trains from Thanjavur, about 9,000-10,000 MT on five trains from Tiruvarur district, about 4,000 MT on two trains from Mayiladuthurai district and over 2,000 MT on one train from Nagapattinam district were being moved. It has been planned to move about 48,000 MT from Tiruvarur district, the release said.

The Chief Minister had on October 2 reviewed the storage and movement of paddy procured and teams have been constituted in every taluk to monitor the procurement and movement. The Food Minister and officials made field inspections on October 10 and 11 in this regard.

Following a request from the Chief Secretary to the General Manager of the Southern Railway, the Railway has approved 13 freight trains to the Cauvery delta region for the movement of procured paddy. Three expert committees have arrived in Tamil Nadu over the Tamil Nadu government’s request to relax the permissible moisture content for procurement from 17% to 22%. 

Since 2021, 1.70 crore MT of paddy have been procured through the direct procurement centres and on an average, about 42.61 lakh MT of paddy have been procured annually, the government said.