Minister’s word fails to end bribe menace in DPCs

RANIPET: Frustrated over the continuing ‘mamool’ (bribe) menace by loadmen at Direct Procurement Centres (DPCs) to offload paddy a farmer complained to the Ranipet Collector during the weekly grievance redressal day meeting on Monday demanding action against the District Regional Manager of Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC).

PC Jayaraman, a farmer, in his petition dated May 8 said that when he took 40 bags of paddy — each weighing 40 kg — harvested from his father’s field at Bagavali village in Ranipet district to the DPC at Kalmelkuppam in Wallajahpet taluk on April 21, the authorities did not issue a receipt for the load.

Jayaraman told DT Next that the authorities refused to issue a receipt as he refused to pay the ‘mamool’ of Rs 2,400 at the rate of Rs 60 per bag.

“Initially I handed over Rs 1,000 and another similar amount sometime later. But they refused to accept and demanded the full amount of Rs 2,400. When I refused to do so, they refused to issue a receipt.”

He finally got a WhatsApp receipt after TN Vivasayigal Sangam functionary R Subash intervened. But the manual bill was yet to be issued.

His petition further stated that when he raised this issue at the agricultural grievance day meeting on April 22, the TNCSC RM Devapriya assured him that she would ensure he received both the receipt and payment but later went incommunicado. He pleaded that action be taken against the RM for not ensuring that he received his receipt and payment.

More shocking was the experience of farmer M Rajkumar of Tamaraipakkam in Timiri panchayat union, who had to shell out Rs 6,000 to loadmen to weigh 198 bags of paddy each weighing 40 kg at the TNCSC DPC at Alalacheri 16 km away.

“Not only did they demand Rs 6,000 (after bargaining as they originally demanded Rs 8,000), they also under weighed my load resulting in the loss of two bags,” he lamented.

“I had already spent nearly Rs 10,000 to move my paddy to Alalacheri at the rate of Rs 50 per bag and hence I do not know how I will meet my regular expenses,” he said.

“Though the Food Minister and district officials announced that farmers need not pay ‘mamool’, nothing has changed and nothing happens in DPCs without paying the bribe, especially after the entry of DMK functionaries,” sources alleged.

When contacted, RM Devapriya on Tuesday said both issues would be looked into and later called this correspondent to inform that Rs 33,840 has been credited to Jayaraman’s account. Regarding Rajkumar’s complaint, she said that in the future “When farmers faced issues they can call me and connect to the DPC’s billing clerk over the phone so that she can resolve their problem immediately.”