Chennai, Feb 17 (PTI) Tamil Nadu will set up an additional 130 modern paddy storage facilities at an estimated cost of Rs 495 crore, Minister MRK Panneerselvam said on Tuesday.
The move will enhance the State’s annual paddy storage capacity to 7.30 lakh metric tonnes, he added.
Opposition parties, including the main opposition party, AIADMK, in the Assembly, have been criticising the ruling DMK government for not providing adequate storage facilities to store paddy grains, particularly during floods in the delta districts in the rainy season.
While presenting the interim agriculture budget, Panneerselvam said that soon after the government assumed office in May 2021, there were paddy godowns with an overall capacity of 1 lakh metric tonne.
Over the last five years, he said, 253 modern paddy storage godowns with a capacity of 4 lakh metric tonnes were constructed at a cost of Rs 331 crore to procure and safely store the paddy harvested by farmers through their hard labour.
With a view to further enhancing storage facilities, the state minister for agriculture and farmers’ welfare said, “130 modern storage facilities with a capacity of 3.30 lakh metric tonnes are being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 495 crore, with the aim of not wasting even a single grain of paddy during floods.” PTI VIJ JSP VIJ SSK
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