Madurai: Farmers in Madurai district have alleged that paddy procurement centres established by the government have not yet paid the dues amounting to Rs 35 crore for the procurement made from them nearly a month ago.
The issue was raised in the farmers grievance meeting held at the Madurai district collectorate on Wednesday. Paddy was cultivated in 38,235 hectares in the district last season, and 1.5 tonne was harvested from 32,000 hectares. Ravi, a farmer from Kottakudi, said that they had not been given their dues for the procured paddy for over a month. He was told that payments had been made for paddy procured till February 16, but the farmers claimed that payment has not been made for paddy procured on February 3.
Farmers in Melur alleged that the procurement process was getting delayed and their paddy bags were lying in the open without any protection. “The skies turned cloudy on Wednesday evening, and we prayed that it would not rain because, the slightest drizzle could result in our paddy sprouting and going waste,” said Sethu, a farmer from Melur. A demand was made at the grievance meet to increase the number of paddy procurement centres in Madurai.
Officials of the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation said the number of centres had been increased to 100 from the previous 45 this year. The delay was due to lack of sufficient labour and problems with the transport, they said. Farmers also said that they had to pay about Rs 50 for each bag that they gave at the procurement centres.
Madurai collector Dr T G Vinay said that payment for the procured paddy had been given to 2,355 farmers till date and deposited in their bank accounts, the remaining amount would be deposited to 1,384 farmers in a week’s time.
The issue was raised in the farmers grievance meeting held at the Madurai district collectorate on Wednesday. Paddy was cultivated in 38,235 hectares in the district last season, and 1.5 tonne was harvested from 32,000 hectares. Ravi, a farmer from Kottakudi, said that they had not been given their dues for the procured paddy for over a month. He was told that payments had been made for paddy procured till February 16, but the farmers claimed that payment has not been made for paddy procured on February 3.
Farmers in Melur alleged that the procurement process was getting delayed and their paddy bags were lying in the open without any protection. “The skies turned cloudy on Wednesday evening, and we prayed that it would not rain because, the slightest drizzle could result in our paddy sprouting and going waste,” said Sethu, a farmer from Melur. A demand was made at the grievance meet to increase the number of paddy procurement centres in Madurai.
Officials of the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation said the number of centres had been increased to 100 from the previous 45 this year. The delay was due to lack of sufficient labour and problems with the transport, they said. Farmers also said that they had to pay about Rs 50 for each bag that they gave at the procurement centres.
Madurai collector Dr T G Vinay said that payment for the procured paddy had been given to 2,355 farmers till date and deposited in their bank accounts, the remaining amount would be deposited to 1,384 farmers in a week’s time.
