Millers Ignore CMR Delivery Deadline Civil Supplies Officials Remain Tightlipped
Hyderabad: Despite the January 31 deadline set for millers to return custom-milled rice (CMR) from the paddy given to them, officials from the state civil supplies corporation are tightlipped on the volume of the custom-milled rice that has come back.
Minister for civil supplies N. Uttam Kumar Reddy had, after a series of reviews of the department, warned millers of dire consequences in case they failed to comply.
Citing the Rs 56,000 crore debt and Rs 11,000 crore losses piled up by the BRS regime, the minister had noted that the recovery of the corporation will depend on millers delivering the rice back. The corporation, it may be recalled, has an interest burden of Rs 3,000 crore. Delays in delivering the prescribed quantity of CMR to the FCI could have serious consequences for future allocations to Telangana. He had also stressed the need for a system improvement and process streamlining to ensure timely delivery of rice to FCI.
The total stocks of grains with the millers for the year 2022-23 are 110 lakh metric tonnes of paddy and 14 lakh metric tonnes of rice. The corporation website, which reflects data on the grain stock at the level of each ration shop, however, steers clear of any information on the amount of rice that has been delivered by millers to them. This, an official who did not wish to be named, opined amounts to lack of transparency.
It may be recalled that Uttam Kumar Reddy had informed after he took charge that the last completed audit of the corporation was for the year 2018-19.
The corporation had recently informed that its recoveries from millers had increased by forty per cent. The corporation had to get back 43.73 lakh metric tonnes of rice from the millers for the kharif season 2022-23 but was not given back fully even after 15 months. The civil supplies corporation claimed that a record 14.50 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of rice was recovered from millers between December second week and January 27.
Commenting on the situation, retired Justice D.S.R. Varma, consultative committee of the FCI affiliated body for Telangana, said “The civil supplies corporation, the FCI and the millers are all hand in glove. They don’t allow our committee to do its duty of inspecting the go downs. We don’t have a place to sit and perform our work. The Union and state governments are subject to monetary losses, as a consequence.”
The corporation had categorized 115 millers in 2019-20, 80 millers in 2020-21 and 400 millers in 2011-22 as defaulters.
The defaults, according to sources, are higher in Peddapalli, kamareddy, Suryapet, Wanaparthy and Nagarkurnool districts.
The entire procurement operations of the corporation are being manned by M. Raji Reddy, general manager (procurement). Belonging to his parent agriculture and cooperation departments, he has clearly over stayed his extended tenure, which ended on September 16, 2023. He was reportedly also involved in the recent issue of the notification for global tenders for paddy, despite the uncertainty surrounding his tenure in the corporation.
