CUDDALORE: Minister for Food and Civil Supplies P Venkataramanan on Sunday directed the officials concerned to order the suspension of list clerk at the direct procurement centre (DPC) at Maruvai near Vadalur, after a farmer alleged that Rs 50-Rs 60 per bag was being collected as bribe for paddy procurement.
The minister was inspecting facilities in Cuddalore for paddy procurement and storage during the monsoon. Collector Sibi Adithya Senthil Kumar and Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) Regional Manager K Panneerselvam accompanied the minister.
Venkataramanan visited the Government Modern Rice Mill at Kothangudithoppu in Chidambaram, the municipal Amudham supermarket and the TNCSC warehouse at the MRK Cooperative Sugar Mill campus in Sethiyathope.
During a surprise inspection at the Maruvai DPC , Venkataramanan verified procurement records and spoke to a farmer who claimed that officials were collecting a bribe of Rs 50-Rs 60 per paddy bag. Based on the complaint, the minister directed the collector to suspend the list clerk, Velmurugan, at once and ordered an inquiry.