Despite earlier orders, the packages had not been paid, prompting contempt petitions: Reports
HYDERABAD: Following repeated Telangana High Court directions, officials finally disbursed long‑pending Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) benefits to elderly widow women displaced by the Mallannasagar reservoir under the Kaleshwaram project.
Despite earlier orders, the packages had not been paid, prompting contempt petitions. Justice Vakiti Ramakrishna Reddy prioritised the matter, noting that many widows had died without receiving their dues. He directed authorities to either release the payments immediately or ensure principal secretary (Finance) Sandeep Kumar Sultania appeared before the court on April 15.
On the eve of the deadline, officials released the benefits to surviving widows. The court, however, pressed further — inquiring about interest on the seven‑year delay and the pending allotment of residential units to eligible beneficiaries.
360 rice millers move HC for quashing paddy diversion cases
More than 360 rice millers have filed a petition in the Telangana High Court for quashing cases registered against them over alleged diversion of paddy and non-payment of dues amounting to ₹3,960 crore.
The cases stem from a probe by the civil supplies department, which flagged irregularities in the custom milling process. The state has alleged that the millers diverted paddy supplied for milling and failed to return the resultant rice or remit equivalent value.
Opposing the petitions, the state government told the court that the defaults have adversely affected public finances and welfare schemes. During the hearing before Justice J. Sreenivas Rao, public prosecutor Palle Nageswar Rao submitted that the millers had wilfully defaulted despite policy mandates.
He said that under the Custom Milling Rice (CMR) policy, millers must return milled rice to the civil supplies department within 15 days of procuring paddy. However, the accused have allegedly delayed compliance since the 2022–23 financial year, placing a burden on the state exchequer.
The state further alleged that some millers diverted proceeds from the paddy into unrelated ventures, including film production, real estate, asset acquisition and setting up new rice mills in the names of family members.
It also informed the court that most cases have been registered in Kamareddy, Nizamabad and Nalgonda districts, with individual defaults ranging between ₹1 crore and ₹100 crore. Of around 3,600 rice mills in the State, a significant number are under scrutiny in connection with the alleged irregularities. The court adjourned the matter for further hearing.
