11 rice mills to come up in state soon, says Food Minister

TIRUCHY: Totally 11 rice mills will be established with hulling capacity in 10 MT, 200 MT and 500 MT in a phased manner as demanded by the farmers from Delta region and among them as many as six will be set up initially, said Minister for Food and Civil Supplies R Sakkrapani on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters in Tiruvarur after chairing a review meeting and interacting with farmers on kuruvai procurement, Sakkarapani said a total of 45 lakh MT paddy was procured last year. “From October 1, 2021 to July 12, 2022, 40.05 lakh MT has been procured from 5.61 lakh farmers across the state and an amount of Rs 8,103 crore has been disbursed to the farmers. In Tiruvarur alone 7.65 lakh MT paddy has been procured from as many as 94,375 farmers and an amount of Rs 1,566 crore has been disbursed,” the Minister informed, adding, “the paddy will be procured from the farmers directly and processed immediately and they will be packed and distributed.” Sakkarapani said that the Chief Minister has fixed a target to store 5 lakh MT of paddy in the warehouses and in Tiruvarur at least 70,000 MT of paddy will be stored.

Stating that the government is very particular in ensuring free and fair procurement, the wage of Rs 3.25 per bag has been increased to Rs 10 per bag to the workers in the director procurement centres. “We have been instructed to install a complaint box and display the contact details of officials from the department and the respective district collectors would initiate action on the complaints received from the farmers”, he said.

Referring to the promise of DMK in the election manifesto that ration cards will be issued within 15 days from the date of application, the Minister said within 14 months of coming to power, as many as 12.54 lakh beneficiaries have been given the cards.

Later, he proceeded to Thanjavur and interacted with farmers to ascertain their grievances and requirements.