Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Wednesday dispelled apprehensions over the Centre’s decentralised procurement policy, saying it would not affect the farmers in Tamil Nadu as the procurement for the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) in the State was far less than what the Centre allocated.
She told the Assembly that the circular sent by the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Distribution on June 12 made it clear that subsidy would be given only to foodgrains meant for the TPDS and other welfare schemes.
Under the scheme for decentralised procurement of foodgrains, the States could procure, store and distribute foodgrains under the TPDS and other welfare schemes. In the event of the total quantity of wheat and rice thus procured falling short of the total allocation by the Centre for the TPDS and other schemes, the Centre would meet the deficit from its pool stocks through the Food Corporation of India, she said. The current rice allocation for Tamil Nadu was 35.58 lakh tonnes, and it was 52.32 lakh tonnes in the case of paddy.
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“We have so far procured only 23.81 lakh tonnes of rice. It is equal to 16.19 lakh tonnes of paddy. As we are procuring less than what the Centre has allocated, the Centre’s announcement will not affect Tamil Nadu,” she said.