Telangana govt mulling over auction of wet paddy

Hyderabad: With heavy rains lashing across the State and the union government stopping procurement of custom milled rice (CMR), the State government is now exploring options to auction the paddy procured from farmers recently.

Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar asked the officials to prepare proposals which will be submitted to Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao for a final decision.

The State government has about 94 lakh tonnes of paddy stocks stored in its posession since Yasangi (Rabi) 2020-21 season. The paddy was procured during Yasangi 2020-21, Vaanakalam (Kharif) 2021-22 and the recent Yasangi 2021-22. While majority of the stocks are stored in godowns, Rythu Vedikas and function halls among others, about 10 lakh tonnes of paddy is lying under open sky in various market yards and other government premises.

Following the incessant rains, this 10 lakh tonnes paddy got wet and is on verge of getting inedible for humans. As it could get wasted completely, the Civil Supplies Minister held an emergency meeting with the top officials of the department and asked them to explore options to auction the stocks. Apart from requesting the Central government as well as the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to resume CMR procurement, the officials will submit a detailed report to the Chief Minister for his approval to auction the stocks.