Nellore: Rice millers told to settle dues

Nellore: Civil supplies minister Prattipati Pulla Rao has threatened to send rice millers to jail if they fail to settle the dues they owe to the government within one month. He said millers involved in custom milling rice (CMR) in the 13 districts of AP have to pay nearly Rs 130 crore to the government. As many as 23 millers of Nellore top in the list with '70 crore dues since last two years. The minister expressed his displeasure over the situation during a review with food advisory committee here on Thursday.

He attributed the dues to the millers’ failure to supply rice for the PDS even after collecting paddy from the state. He set one-month deadline to repay the outstanding dues or else, the joint collector would file criminal cases and auction their properties. He said they are planning to ban companies selling water and soft drinks at exorbitant rates while claiming that such firms have already identified.

Representatives of the associations highlighted the issues such as shortage of fertilisers besides biometric and ePASS issues. Speaking to reporters at Venkatagiri, he said arrangements are being made to supply sugar, palm oil and red gram through FPS from September this year.