Chennai, Feb 5 (UNI) – CM M.K.Stalin | Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K.Stalin on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to provide necessary relaxations in the procurement norms for mitigating unseasonal rains on the Samba crop in the Cauvery Delta. (CM M.K.Stalin)
In a Demi-Official letter to the Prime Minister, copies of which were released to the media here, he also urged him to issue necessary instructions to allow the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) to procure paddy from the farmers with moisture content up to 22% and for relaxation in the minimum limit of immature, shrunken and shrivelled up to 5% (as against 3%) and damaged, discoloured and sprouted up to 7% (as against 5%) with necessary value cut for this Samba crop also.
Drawing his attention on the impact of heavy unseasonal rains on the Samba crop on the verge of harvest in the Cauvery delta and requested him to provide necessary relaxations in the procurement norms for mitigating it, the Chief Minister said “our Government had taken various steps to improve the area of paddy cultivation, like early desilting of irrigation channels in the Cauvery delta, release of water from the Mettur Dam much ahead of schedule and distribution of Kuruvai package for the farmers”, he said.
Stalin said “due to these initiatives, we were able to cultivate a record area of 4.19 lakh hectares during the Kuruvai season and 16.43 lakh hectares had been brought under the Samba/Navarai crop in the State.”
Unfortunately, at a time when paddy is being harvested in February, heavy unseasonal rains in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai and Pudukkottai districts have inundated the standing crop around one lakh hectares, as per our preliminary assessment, he said.
“We are making all efforts to drain the water and resume the harvest process. But despite our best efforts, we are concerned that the moisture content in the harvested grain is likely to be much higher due to the exposure to heavy rains”, he added.
During similar instances in the past, as recently as in the last Kuruvai season, the Union Government have accorded permission for relaxing the norms on moisture content for paddy procurement, based on the request from TNCSC, the State Procurement Agency under the Decentralized procurement Scheme, Stalin pointed out.
The current situation due to this spell of unseasonal rains warrants a similar relaxation now, so that the procurement can be smoothly completed. “Hence, I request you to issue necessary instructions to allow the TNCSC to procure paddy from the farmers with moisture content up to 22% and for relaxation in the minimum limit of immature, shrunken and shrivelled up to 5% (as against 3%) and damaged, discoloured and sprouted up to 7% (as against 5%) with necessary value cut for this Samba crop also”, he added.
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