Crackdown launched on millers diverting custom milled rice in Peddapalli

According to officials, 80 percent of the CMR, translating into 1.82 lakh tons from the Kharif (Vanakalam) season of 2022-23 alone was pending with millers

Peddapalli: With several rice millers in the district delaying supply of Custom Milled Rice (CMR) within the stipulated timeframe, the district administration has launched a crackdown on such violators.

According to officials, 80 percent of the CMR, translating into 1.82 lakh tons from the Kharif (Vanakalam) season of 2022-23 alone was pending with millers. A total of 2.34 lakh tons of rice worth Rs 750 crore from the last four seasons are pending with rice millers.

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During a recent video conference with District Collectors, Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari had enquired about the reasons behind the delay in CMR supply and instructed officials to inspect rice mills. Based on the Chief Secretary’s directions, Collector Sanjeeta Satyanarayana formed 19 teams along with Tahsildars and Civil Supplies officials to inspect rice mills in the district. Three days ago, the Collector also inspected a few rice mills in Sultanabad mandal.

The teams are checking various aspects including how much CMR has been returned so far by a particular rice mill and how much it has to return. Irregularities were found during the inspections. There were differences in the CMR returned to the government and the stock available at mills.

Instead of returning the total quantity of CMR to the government within the timeframe, some millers were holding back some quantity and making money by selling the rice in other States at higher prices, Civil Supplies department sources said.

Speaking to Telangana Today, District Supplies Officer Thota Venkateshwarlu said CMR from four seasons was pending in the district. Informing that steps have been taken to speed up the process of getting rice from millers, he said 23,780 kg of rice was supplied by millers on Monday.

Besides continuing checking with teams, they were also contacting millers over phone and asking them to return the rice, he said.