The authority to decide the moisture content level in paddy should be vested with the State government, said Communist Party of India’s Thanjavur unit.
The party conducted its district executive committee meeting here on October 23 in the presence of State secretary R. Mutharasan. Discussing the current situation in the procurement of paddy at the direct purchase centres opened by the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation, the participants led by Thanjavur district secretary Muthu Uthirapathi and deputy secretary T. Kasinathan pointed out that the moisture content in paddy brought to the DPCs was more than the prescribed limit of 17% in view of the incessant rains. But the DPC staff remain firm on insisting the moisture content rule and hence a large quantity of paddy bags remain stacked in the open.
Insisting that the paddy should be procured at a higher moisture content of up to 22% in view of the climatic conditions and the problems faced by the farmers in storing the harvested paddy, the office- bearers condemned the Central team which visited the district to assess ground situation for declaring that it would forward the report to the Union government for arriving at a decision within a fortnight.
‘Grains may sprout’
Pointing out that leaving the paddy grains with higher moisture content in the absence of a proper storage facility would only result in the grains sprouting, they demanded that the Union government should allow the State government to decide on the moisture content level for procurement of paddy depending on the climatic conditions.
They also insisted that all the paddy that have been brought to the DPCs should be procured immediately to avoid further damage to the grains.
