Tamil Nadu expands paddy storage by 3 lakh metric tonnes, total capacity exceeds 7 lakh tonnes

Tamil Nadu Minister for Food and Civil Supplies R Sakkarapani on Friday said the state government is setting up additional storage facilities with a capacity of 3 lakh metric tonne for paddy.

Combined with the existing storage capacity of 4.63 lakh metric tonne, the total infrastructure to hold the paddy would exceed 7 lakh metric tonnes, he informed the Assembly.

Responding to a query raised by Leader of Opposition, Edappadi K Palaniswami, he noted that 4,000 Direct Procurement Centres are operational across the Delta districts.


"From the current capacity of 4.63 lakh metric tonne, additional facilities with a capacity to hold 3 lakh metric tonne paddy are being established", he said.

Sakkarapani said the state civil supplies corporation recently held a virtual meeting chaired by Chief Minister M K Stalin, who directed them to review operations in Delta districts.

"Based on the Chief Minister's instructions, we visited the districts and conducted a review meeting in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Cuddalore and other areas," he said.

The Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd procures paddy in two seasons. Kuruvai (October 1 and December 15 every year) and Samba (December 16 to July 31).

The Corporation is involved in the procurement, storage and distribution of essential commodities under the Public Distribution System, the website of the Corporation said.