Telangana: Adilabad officials under fire over disparity in rice stock

With discrepancies being reported in the amount of Custom Milling Rice (CMR) received and sent by the rice mills, it has been alleged that district officials are neglecting to monitor the process and the delivery to the Food Corporation of India (FCI). While vigilance officials have identified the mills where such disparities were reported, the issue is yet to be rectified.

Recently, Hyderabad and Karimnagar vigilance officials conducted raids on rice mills and found discrepancies between registered and actual stock. Sources said local officials fail to monitor rice mills regularly due to bribery or political pressure, particularly in districts like Kumurambheem Asifabad, Nirmal and Mancherial, where there is a high concentration of rice mills due to extensive paddy cultivation.

On February 25, vigilance and enforcement officials, along with civil supplies authorities, searched Sri Sai Balaji Rice Mill near Venkatapur in Sirpur T mandal of Kumurambheem Asifabad district. They discovered discrepancies in both kharif and rabi seasons, with a shortage of 69,394 bags worth `5.90 crore.

For the 2022–23 rabi season, they found 9,639 missing bags out of 37,025 recorded. In the 2023–24 kharif season, out of 42,130 bags recorded, 122 bags were missing. In addition, Laxmi Rice Mill was found to be missing 36,000 bags.

The sources said that some political leaders affiliated with the previous BRS government, who are actively involved in the rice trade in the erstwhile Adilabad district, are reportedly joining the Congress to evade action in response to their alleged illegal activities.

This article has been republished from the New Indian Express.