TNCSC union opposes mobile paddy procurement centres

Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) employees’ union (INTUC) has urged the State government and the TNCSC management not to grant approval for mobile paddy procurement centres, saying the move would invite fresh irregularities, cause loss to the State exchequer, and jeopardise the quality of rice supplied under the public distribution system.

Ka. Ilavari, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation Employees’ Union, made the appeal in a press statement on Friday. Mr. Ilavari warned that mobile procurement units — promoted by some volunteer groups and farmer organisations — could repeat the “various irregularities” that had earlier led to the suspension of such centres and would make it harder to guarantee graded, market-ready rice for public distribution.

“In the past, mobile procurement centres created conditions in which out-of-state paddy was diverted to clandestine markets and genuine procurement from farmers was disrupted,” Mr. Ilavari said.

He recalled that procurement through the TNCSC and its predecessors had been the accepted mechanism for buying paddy from farmers for the past five decades. He said the union — which led strong protests during the previous AIADMK administration when mobile procurement centres were operating — had succeeded in getting those centres suspended after negotiations with the government.

Pointing to the current season’s unusually high yields and the large volume of paddy procured so far, Mr. Ilavari warned that re-introducing mobile units now would open the door to further abuses.