CM Stalin urges PM to expedite issuing fortified rice licence
In Tamil Nadu, especially in the Cauvery delta districts, a very high quantity of paddy has been produced in the Kharif season this year.
CM Stalin
CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging his intervention to issue fortified rice licences, and cited that results had been released for only 33 samples, against 77 samples uploaded on the Union government’s portal.
Stalin urged the Agriculture Ministry to expedite the certification process, as fortified rice is mandatory for paddy milling as per Union guidelines. He also appealed that licensing authority for fortified rice be delegated to southern states.
Chief Minister Stalin also urged the Union government to increase the permissible moisture content for paddy procurement from 17% to 22%.
He said paddy procurement in Tamil Nadu has reached 14.11 lakh metric tonnes so far this year, a sharp increase from 4.81 lakh metric tonnes during the same period last year. The State government has disbursed Rs 3,559 crore to 1.86 lakh farmers through 1,932 Direct Purchase Centres (DPCs) till November 16. During the corresponding period last year, procurement stood at 4.83 lakh tonnes through 1,095 DPCs, he noted.
The chief minister said that based on the Food Department’s projections, the overall stock in the open market is expected to be 98.25 lakh metric tonnes, which would translate to 66.81 lakh tonnes of rice after milling. He recalled that Tamil Nadu had earlier recommended to the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution to reduce the 20-lakh-tonne storage limit fixed in August.
Pointing out that paddy cultivation in the State was higher than ever this year, he urged the Centre to revise the rice-conversion quantum at the end of the current kharif season.
Stalin also highlighted the issue of moisture content in the paddy, stating that although central teams had inspected the State, orders permitting the increased limit were yet to be issued.
Citing IMD alerts of an intensifying northeast monsoon, he cautioned that heavy rains may affect the paddy already procured in the State.