TNCSC MD: Govt staff may be posted to monitor DPCs

RANIPET: Top officials of the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) are mulling over using senior staff from other government departments to monitor the working of DPCs to ensure better functioning, according to corporation MD S Prabhakar.

The move follows repeated complaints about DPCs functioning, the latest being farmers being forced to buy a weighing machine and nearly 2,500 gunny bags for a DPC operated by NCCF (National Cooperative Consumers Federation) which lacked the necessary infrastructure, he told DT Next.

Farmers VS Shankar of Vanakambadi lamented that “despite repeated appeals to top officials and the district administration no action was taken on our pleas. The NCCF DPC at Vanakambadi was delayed as only the winnowing machine arrived. There were no gunny bags or weighing machine and so farmers purchased a weighing machine for Rs 6,000 in addition to moving 2,500 gunny bags from Thamaraipakkam paying Rs 1,500 as transport cost. However, more than 50 per cent of the gunny bags were unfit for use resulting in farmers themselves stitching those which could be repaired to ensure availability to meet needs.”

Thamaraipakkam farmer M Raj Kumar said, “The civil supplies officials want us to offload our stocks at Allalacheri in Kalavai taluk which is 16 km away for which the transport cost is Rs 50 per 80 kilo bag. I have 110 bags to move which I need to spend more than Rs 5,000 as transport cost and hence, I have pawned by wife’s jewels to raise money to buy PDS rice for my family to live.”

“Inability to move paddy to DPCs has resulted in my being unable to pay or get a fresh loan for the next crop and hence, I am awaiting the response of the government to this imbroglio,” he added.

Sources said delayed payment by NCCF DPCs was the reason why he refused to offload his stocks at Vanakambadi less than a kilometer away.

Prabhakar said, “based on media reports orders had been issued to open 8 DPCs in areas where NCCF was operating. Another 10 more DPCs would be opened in places, which had paddy stocks. Orders had been issued to both the Collector and civil supplies RM in this regard.”