Officials fail to act against erring rice mills

Wanaparthy : Reports have emerged of severe mismanagement and alleged corruption involving rice mills in Wanaparthy district. Paddy allocated for the years 2021-22 and 2022-23 remains unpaid, with district authorities reportedly taking no action.

In 2022-23 non-functional mills—Uma Maheshwara Mill with 120 MT and Gopal Reddy Rice Mill with 45 MT, both in Veepanagandla mandal, Govardhanagiri—were given paddy, but did not process a single grain.

The district officials’ inaction has raised questions about their motives. It’s alleged that a teacher is behind these mills, using them as proxies. He has allegedly started a new mill at Kambalapuram, Pebbair mandal, which is still under construction and hasn’t even received power yet. The mill was shown as operational; paddy was allocated to it in 2023-24. The number of bags allocated remains confidential; when officials are asked, they claim ignorance.

There are rumours that a transaction of Rs 20 lakh has taken place between rice millers and the officials to facilitate transfer of CMR rice from Wanaparthy to Mahabubnagar district. The authorities, under the supervision of a district officer, are allegedly involved in such activities. When asked for transparency, they avoid giving clear answers.

Although a week has passed since the DC issued an order, no action has been taken, raising suspicion about the officials’ intentions. The officials involved in cancelling transfer of CMR rice to Mahabubnagar have not been named. It is rumoured that the DSO is being treated as a dummy, with all decisions being made by the officials. Despite the mills having no husk or electricity, they openly admit to supplying rice from other districts.

When asked for clarification, the DM refused to give an appointment and claimed ignorance, stating that everything is under the JC’s supervision.