"custom-milled-rice"

Rice mills across Telangana remained closed on Saturday as millers protested against inspections, penalties and issues related to Custom Milled Rice. They sought relief from the 25 per cent penalty, timely processing payments and relaxation in CMR acceptance and storage requirements

Vigilance officials in Nirmal district have unearthed large‑scale diversion of Custom‑Milled Rice (CMR) by rice millers, with defaults amounting to Rs 700 crore in the 2023 and 2024 seasons. About 50 millers are said to have misappropriated stocks, prompting arrests, raids, and statewide audits.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has ordered strict recovery of dues from rice millers defaulting on Custom Milled Rice (CMR) targets. He accused the previous government of irregularities that led to massive arrears and warned stern action against deliberate defaulters.

The Jagtial BJP unit suspended party leader Konda Laxman over alleged misuse of Custom Milled Rice. The action came after police registered cases following a Civil Supplies department complaint and raids detected unaccounted paddy worth Rs 87 crore

The Telangana government has asked the Centre to increase the paddy procurement quota for the Yasangi (Rabi) 2025-26 season and extend deadlines for supplying Custom Milled Rice, citing record procurement and logistical challenges.

Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy has urged the Union Government to increase parboiled rice allocations and extend deadlines to address Telangana’s growing paddy stockpile. In a letter to Union Food Minister Pralhad Joshi, he highlighted the mismatch between production and procurement.

The Telangana Civil Supplies Department will implement new GOI-mandated quality norms for rice under TPDS from KMS 2026-2027. Millers agreed to limit broken grains and supply 20,000 metric tonnes of steamed rice for welfare schemes including Mid-Day Meal

The Vigilance and Enforcement department’s RC Puram Unit uncovered major shortages of Custom Milled Rice paddy stocks during surprise inspections in Sangareddy. At Samrat Food Industries in Sirgapur mandal, officials found 40,835 quintals of paddy worth Rs 9.47 crore missing.

Despite ongoing crackdowns, diversion of custom milled rice (CMR) continues in Telangana’s Mancherial and Nirmal districts, leading to significant government revenue losses. Recently, two millers in Mancherial were booked for diverting over 12,686 metric tonnes of rice worth Rs. 45 crore.

In Mancherial district, 25 rice millers have been identified for defaulting or diverting custom milled rice (CMR) from the Vanakalam and Yasangi seasons of 2022 to 2024, with an estimated value of Rs. 205.47 crore. Cases against nine millers have been registered under relevant laws, with penalties and interest imposed.

Certain rice millers from Bhainsa Assembly segment allegedly defaulted on the CMR allocated by the State government for custom milling from 2020 to 2024 seasons

The government allotted 1.42 lakh metric tonnes of paddy belonging to 2023-24 Yasangi season to the millers, setting a target of handing over 95,942 metric tonnes in Nirmal district. The millers delivered 81,099 metric tonnes of rice so far. The millers are yet to deliver custom milled rice (CMR) 14,843 metric tonnes, showing a deficit of 15 percent.

The Telangana Civil Supplies Corporation is currently grappling with serious issues over the pricing of gunny bags, which are essential for paddy procurement. With the Rabi season approaching and a substantial area under paddy cultivation expected, the department is under pressure to secure the required number of gunny bags in advance.

The district houses 19 boiled rice mills and 35 raw rice mills, assigned to mill 1.39 lakh metric tonnes of paddy procured by organizations like MEPMA, IKP, PACS, and DCMS during Vanakalam-2023. So far, they have returned 61,467 metric tonnes of rice out of the 94,057 metric tonne target, with 32,589 metric tonnes still pending for delivery.

The government machinery has initiated measures to auction properties of rice mills that defaulted on delivering custom milled rice (CMR) in the Khammam.

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy made it clear that there would be no paddy allocation for defaulters this season.

The millers have made it clear that they are not prepared to provide bank guarantees, with some even threatening to boycott the operations entirely if the policy is enforced.

The process of CMR has become a tough task for the Civil Supplies department due to lethargy displayed by certain rice millers of the district in returning the grains to the govt on time

Much of the CMR dues owed to the corporation were for four marketing seasons: Yasangi 2019-20 and 2020-21 and Vanakalam 2021-22 and 2022–23.

Civil Supplies Commissioner, D S Chouhan made it clear that there would not be any scope for waiver of the penalty on the CMR dues.