Chennai, Sep 22 With the kuruvai paddy harvest about to peak in Madurai district, the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) has announced that 40 direct purchase centres (DPCs) will be made functional by the end of this month.
Officials said the centres will be opened in phases over the next two weeks, in line with the harvesting schedule, to ensure uninterrupted procurement.
Kuruvai cultivation has been undertaken on nearly 10,000 acres in Vadipatti, Kallandhiri, and Chellampatti blocks. Farmers in several pockets have begun harvesting as crops reached maturity, though unseasonal rain in recent days has caused anxiety.
To protect their yield, cultivators have appealed to the TNCSC to provide adequate tarpaulin sheets at procurement points so that paddy bags are not exposed to rain damage.
District officials have assured that procurement will be streamlined and irregularities curbed. However, farmer representatives voiced concerns.
A farmer who doesn't want to be named alleged that cultivators were being forced to pay nearly Rs 50 per bag during procurement. “A district-level monitoring committee or a dedicated control room must be set up to oversee the centres and prevent malpractice,” he demanded.
Responding to these concerns, official sources said stringent instructions have been issued to prevent traders from passing off paddy in the name of farmers. They added that all DPCs will be opened simultaneously once harvest reports confirm readiness, and procurement norms will be strictly enforced.
Officials from the civil supplies department also assured that adequate staff will be deployed to handle grievances at procurement points.
“Farmers will have access to staff who can resolve complaints immediately,” a senior officer said.
Despite these assurances, cultivators maintained that only a permanent monitoring mechanism would guarantee transparency and fairness.
With harvesting expected to intensify over the next week, farmers stressed that timely procurement, effective rain-protection measures, and strict vigilance against irregularities were vital to safeguard their produce.
“We have worked hard through the season. What we need now is quick, fair, and transparent procurement,” a farmer from Vadipatti said.
The success of the procurement drive, stakeholders agree, will depend not only on the number of centres opened but also on the government’s ability to enforce checks and respond swiftly to the grievances of cultivators.
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