Telangana: TS makes Rs 1,110 cr profit with fresh tenders for damaged paddy

The Civil Supplies department has earned Rs 1,110.51 crore profit from fresh paddy tenders, called after the state government cancelled the ones invited by the previous BRS regime.

The BRS government made some decisions that could have incurred a loss of Rs 1,000 crore to the state exchequer from the sale of paddy damaged due to unseasonal rains last year.

Purchasers did not come forward though the price was fixed at below Rs 3,000 per metric tonne. After coming to power, the Congress government scrapped the tenders and invited fresh ones. In the new tender process, the government received bids of over Rs 3,000 per metric tonne. As per this calculation, an additional Rs 1,110.51 crore will be accrued to the Civil Supplies department.

As per the Minimum Support Price (MSP), the price of a metric tonne of paddy is Rs 20,600. The previous government invited tenders and finalised the price at Rs 17,015.19 per metric tonne.

As per the previous tender, the officials said that the department would have got Rs 5,885.55 crore for 34.59 lakh metric tonnes of paddy. According to MSP, the department would have incurred a loss of Rs 1,239.99 crore.

In the fresh tenders, the buyer bid at Rs 20,225.67 per metric tonne. This is an increase of Rs 3,210.48 per metric tonne as compared to the old tender.

According to the latest tender for a total of 34.59 lakh metric tonnes, the revenue will be Rs 6,996.06 crore. This is an increase of Rs 1,110.51 crore compared to the revenue expected from the old tenders, reliable sources told TNIE.

This article has been republished from The New Indian Express.