Tamil Nadu to Build 100 Paddy Procurement Centres for Rs 81 Crore

Food and Civil Supplies Minister P. Venkatraman on Thursday announced in Chennai the construction of 100 direct paddy procurement centres with an allocation of Rs 81 crore to protect harvested crops from rains and moisture.

Replying to the debate on the demands for grants for his department, the minister said each new centre will have a capacity of 250 metric tonnes. With these additions, the total number of direct paddy procurement centres across Tamil Nadu will rise to 889. The new centres will be equipped with godowns, access roads, drinking water facilities, conveyor belts, and moisture measuring equipment.

In addition to the procurement centres, 15 godowns capable of storing 31,000 metric tonnes of food grains will be constructed with an estimated budget of Rs 81 crore. Three modern godowns will also be established at existing premises in Ariyalur, Namakkal, and Mettupalayam, offering a combined capacity of 3,400 metric tonnes at a cost of Rs 13 crore. Another 17 godowns are slated for renovation with an outlay of Rs 12 crore.

The department plans to introduce multiple technology-driven measures, including an artificial intelligence-based automatic stock monitoring system to track grain supplies. A mobile application utilizing AI will be rolled out to assess the quality of commodities such as rice, wheat, dhal, and sugar. QR code tagging will be introduced on rice bags to trace quality from mills to public distribution outlets, alongside a Vehicle Location Tracking System for transport vehicles.

The minister also announced the opening of 150 new ration shops and the installation of face authentication machines at 150 shops to aid senior citizens and differently-abled individuals who face issues with fingerprint or iris scanning. A WhatsApp chatbot service will be launched for consumer queries, while officials will use a dedicated mobile app to record shop inspections.

Infrastructure improvements at storage facilities include rest lounges for workers at 10 godowns, CCTV installations at 18 godowns, wooden crates for 12 godowns to shield grains from ground moisture, and the planting of 5,000 saplings across 62 godown premises.