NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, APRIL 26
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has announced one-month extension of the waiver of cold storage fee and market cess that had already been granted to farmers in the state until April 30 here on Sunday.
விவசாயிகளின் சிரமங்களை தவிர்க்க, விளைபொருட்களை பாதுகாப்பாக கிடங்குகளில் சேமித்து வைப்பதற்காக,
சேமிப்பு கிடங்கு வாடகை கட்டணம் 30 நாட்களுக்கு செலுத்த தேவையில்லை என அறிவித்திருந்த நிலையில்,
தற்போது அதை நீட்டித்து, மேலும் ஒரு மாதத்திற்கு வாடகை செலுத்த தேவையில்லை உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளேன். pic.twitter.com/1igI0iA09b
— CMOTamilNadu (@CMOTamilnadu) April 26, 2020
In a statement issued here, the Chief Minister said, the cold storage facilities at procurement centres in the state can be used to stock up produce from farmers for a period of up to six months. The Chief Minister had earlier granted an exemption of storage charge for 30 days. This has now been extended till May 31.
For produce stored cold storages, farmers can avail loan amount of maximum of 50% of the market value of the produce or Rs three lakh (whichever is lesser). The loan tenure is 180 days and five per cent interest. The government had already announced that the interest for the first 30-days need not be paid. This has also been extended for another month.
The market cess of one per cent on sale value, paid by farmers, was waived off till April 30 for produce such as paddy, millets, pulses, groundnut, sesame, coconut, cotton, onion, chillies, tamarind, cashew, jaggery, tapioca, in addition to fruits and vegetables in some districts. This waiver has also been extended till May 31.
The CM had already announced a credit facility up to Rs 10 lakh for farmer organisations that procure fruits and vegetables directly from the farmers and sell these at reasonable prices to the customers.
Additionally, the state has mobilised pushcarts for door-to-door selling of fruits and vegetables across the state, mainly in the city of Chennai. The Horticulture Department also launched the eThottam website on which residents of Chennai can place orders for fruits and vegetables.
