In an effort to ensure smooth procurement and stocking during the forthcoming 2021-22 paddy procurement season, the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation has decided to rope in more private hulling units to convert the existing stock of 13.50 lakh tonnes of paddy into boiled rice.

As per the proposal, private hulling units hitherto not enlisted for hulling of paddy would be encouraged to receive the paddy and return boiled rice to the Corporation within one-and-half months from now so that sufficient space could be made available for safe stocking of paddy to be procured from October 1, 2021.

Sources said that the Corporation had procured 26.97 lakh tonnes of paddy from October 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021, and out of this, 24 lakh tonnes of grains had been hulled. The remaining stock would be hulled through the Corporation’s Modern Rice Mills and 376 Private Modern Rice Mills (MRMs) that have been empanelled by the Corporation.

From April 1 to the first week of August this year, around 13.50 lakh tonnes of paddy were procured and stocked at the godowns and in open stockyards.

Since the monthly hulling capacity of the Corporation’s 21 MRMs (of which raw rice is produced in 6 MRMs) and the empanelled private mills put together hovers around 4 lakh tonnes only, sources said that the Corporation decided to involve the non-empanelled private units in the exercise by offering ₹20 per quintal as an incentive, in addition to the standard hulling charges of ₹20 per quintal to get the existing stock of 13.50 lakh tonnes of paddy converted as boiled rice before October 31, 2021.

Interested hulling units could approach the Senior Regional Managers of the Corporation in their respective districts and get the paddy allotted to their units for hulling after remitting a caution deposit amount equal to 10 per cent of the hulling capacity of their unit. They are bound to produce quality boiled rice of not less than 68 per cent of the paddy allotted to them and must possess modern equipment such as colour sorters and others to ensure quality production, sources said.

Stating that there was no bar on them to take up hulling of paddy received from private traders, the units were advised to keep a separate record of hulling of paddy received from the Corporation. If the need arises, the services of additional private hulling units might be engaged beyond October 30, 2021, sources said.

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Printable version | Oct 2, 2022 4:54:00 pm | https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/more-private-hulling-units-to-be-roped-in-to-convert-paddy-into-boiled-rice/article36288581.ece