The demand to set up paddy procurement centres dominated the general body meeting of the Koppal Zilla Panchayat here on Thursday.
Even as the meeting began, members cutting across party lines, tried to draw the attention of Amaresh Kulagi, zilla panchayat president, who was in the chair, about the plight of the paddy growers in the district and wanted the authorities to come to their rescue by setting up procurement centres.
They pointed out that ready-to-harvest paddy crop on about 26,861 hectares and horticultural crops on about 434 hectares in the district was damaged in the heavy rain recently and it had affected the yield.
A compensation of Rs. 25,000 a hectare for agricultural crops and Rs. 13,500 a hectare for horticultural crops, announced by the government, was yet to be distributed.
Adding insult to injury, the price of paddy in the open market had crashed too. From Rs. 1,200 a tonne, it had come down to Rs. 800 and below. In this background, the government should come to the rescue of the growers by intervening in the market by setting up procurement centres.
When Y.H. Lambu, Deputy Director, Food and Civil Supplies, informed the meeting that procurement centres could be opened only after getting orders from the government, Mr. Kulagi directed him to take up the issue with the Deputy Commissioner and forward a proposal.
Following complaints from the members that eggs were not being provided to children of anganwadis, Mr. Kulagi directed the Deputy Director, Women and Child Development, to stop crediting the amount meant for eggs to the accounts of anganwadi workers and to procure eggs directly by fixing an agency, by floating tender, and distribute them to children. Mr. Kulagi also appealed to the members and officials to achieve the target of construction of 49,610 toilets in the district during the current year under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan.
