CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday strongly condemned the DMK government for its “insensitivity” in handling the distress of delta farmers “affected by delays” in paddy procurement. In a statement, Palaniswami said it was the government’s duty to protect farmers’ produce and ensure timely procurement.
“The government is aware of the area under cultivation, expected yield, and the annual requirement to seek permission for procuring paddy with 22% moisture content, as was done under the AIADMK regime. Yet, it failed to plan storage, set up temporary godowns, or ensure smooth procurement,” he said.
Taking a dig at Agriculture Minister MRK Panneerselvam for saying AIADMK was exaggerating the “slightly sprouted paddy in the sacks”, Palaniswami said the previous AIADMK government had increased daily procurement to 1,000 bags, while the present regime reduced it to 800 bags after 2021, citing lack of storage space and gunny bags.
Meanwhile, former Food Minister R Kamaraj told reporters at the AIADMK headquarters that paddy crops in over one lakh acres have been submerged and nearly 30 lakh sacks are waiting to be procured in the delta districts.
Rejecting the government’s claim that godown capacity has increased, Kamaraj said that until 2011, Tamil Nadu had facilities to store 12 lakh metric tonnes of paddy. “Between 2011 and 2021, the AIADMK government built additional godowns with 12 lakh metric tonnes capacity. But during the DMK regime, procurement centres have faced unprecedented discrepancies,” he alleged.