Chennai, March 7 (IANS) Serious financial irregularities amounting to nearly Rs 500 crore have allegedly taken place in regulated agricultural markets across Tamil Nadu over the past several years, alleged Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) leader Anbumani Ramadoss.

The PMK leader on Saturday demanded that the State government conduct a comprehensive probe into the functioning of market committees that oversee these trading centres.

In a statement, Anbumani Ramadoss said regulated markets were created to ensure that farmers receive fair prices for their produce through a transparent auction system. He noted that the State currently has 27 market committees managing about 284 regulated markets, which serve as key trading platforms for agricultural commodities.

He alleged that instead of strengthening the system meant to protect farmers’ interests, officials had resorted to questionable practices in the execution of works and utilisation of funds in several market yards.

According to him, infrastructure and maintenance works were allegedly fragmented into multiple smaller contracts in order to avoid higher-level scrutiny.

The PMK leader claimed that officials had reportedly taken advantage of a 2018 government order that allows market committees to carry out works costing up to Rs 5 lakh without prior approval from higher authorities. By dividing larger projects into smaller works within this financial limit, approvals and audits were allegedly bypassed.

He said this method was reportedly used to record expenditure on activities such as compound wall construction, painting, flooring repairs, and electrical installations in several market yards.

Citing information obtained through the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the PMK leader pointed to the situation in Coimbatore district as an example. According to the data, market committees in the district generated revenue of more than Rs 80 crore between 2021 and 2025. Of this amount, Rs 76.47 crore was shown as expenditure, most of it through works valued at less than Rs 5 lakh each.

Farmers and local organisations, he claimed, have alleged that many of the works recorded in official documents were either not executed or were only partially completed.

Anbumani Ramadoss further alleged that similar practices were prevalent in regulated markets across Tamil Nadu and that farmers’ organisations estimate the total misappropriation of funds to be around Rs 500 crore over the past four years.

The PMK leader urged the State government to immediately initiate a thorough investigation into the activities of all 27 market committees in Tamil Nadu. He said strict administrative and legal action should be taken against those responsible if the allegations of financial irregularities are confirmed.

–IANS

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