Madurai
Madurai district administration has planned to open 93 paddy direct purchase centres in the district as the kuruvai crop harvest has begun.
Collector S. Aneesh Sekhar announced this at the farmers grievances day meeting held at the Collectorate on Tuesday. The physical meeting was held for the first time after February 2020. It has been held online for the past few months.
The Collector said that e-DPCs will be run by primary agricultural cooperative societies. Though initially permission has been granted for 23 e-DPCs, seven have already been opened, he added.
The farmers thanked the district administration for starting the PACB-linked societies.
However, they expressed their apprehension about the possible delay in payment for the paddy procured.
The Collector said that an inter-department team would be set up to ensure smooth functioning of the DPCs without any malpractice. The new format of the DPC will ensure that middlemen are avoided.
Farmers need to register their name, Aadhar number, land details and bank savings account details through www.tncsc.tn.gov.in and www.tncsc-edpc.in along with the date of handing over the produce to the DPC.
Based on the villages of registered farmers, e-DPCs would be allocated and the consent of village administrative officers procured online.
The details of the DPC allocated to each farmer would be sent as SMS to the mobile phone of the farmers. The SMS will also have the details like date and time of procurement. This will prevent unnecessary wait for the farmers at the DPC.
When farmers sought water through 58-village canal scheme to irrigate farmlands in Usilampatti taluk, farmers from Melur objected to it. The Collector said that release of water for different areas of cultivation would be based on the compendium of rules and no out of turn water release was possible.
Check cane smuggling
Tamil Nadu Sugarcane Farmers’ Association State president N. Palaniswami sought check-posts on the district borders to prevent illegal transportation of cane grown in the district.
He said the sugarcane were being stealthily taken from the cane area under National Cooperative Sugar Mills, Alanganallur, to private sugar mills in other districts.
“We are trying our efforts to start crushing season at Alanganallur and this diversion will sabotage our efforts,” he said.
The Collector promised to look into the issue. Farmers also demanded that workers of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme be allowed to work in farmlands during peak farming season as done in Kerala. Joint Director (Agriculture) T. Vivekanandan was present.
