THANJAVUR/TIRUVARUR: The government has sanctioned around Rs 300 crore to construct warehouses with a capacity to store 3 lakh tonnes of paddy, Food Minister R Sakkarapani said on Friday.
Talking to reporters after inspecting an open cover and plinth (CAP) storage in Munnayampatti, where paddy procured from Direct Procurement Centres is stored, he said, “There are around 103 open CAP storages in the State where paddy bags are kept covered by tarpaulin.
The government has decided to do away with these open storage points. In the first phase, semi-godowns with a capacity of 3 lakh tonnes will be built. Most of these will be constructed in the Cauvery delta districts. In Thanjavur, such godowns will be constructed at Pillayarpatti, Chennampatti and Thittakudi with a total capacity of 58,000 tonnes.”
There is a proposal to send paddy procured from farmers directly from DPCs to hulling agents, instead of storing them at CAP storage points. A decision in this regard will be taken soon, he added. The government has already sanctioned the construction of 13 modern rice mills under the public-private partnership mode.
Orders have been issued to six mills, out of which two mills each with 500-tonne-per-day hulling capacity are coming up in the Thanjavur district. Similarly, two mills are coming up in Tiruvarur district, and one each in Mayiladuthurai and Cuddalore districts. Orders for other mills will be issued soon, the minister said.