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Millers hand-in-glove with public distribution system dealers
Rice millers are colluding with fair price shop dealers in the district to reach their rice levy target. They are purchasing public distribution system (PDS) rice from the ration shops dealers and rice traders who are purchasing PDS rice from white ration card holders.
Srikakulam: Rice millers are colluding with fair price shop dealers in the district to reach their rice levy target. They are purchasing public distribution system (PDS) rice from the ration shops dealers and rice traders who are purchasing PDS rice from white ration card holders.
In turn, the PDS rice will be handed over to the Andhra Pradesh State Civil Supplies Corporation (APSCSC) by the millers and sell the original paddy rice at a higher price in the open market.
Millers reportedly purchasing PDS rice from dealers and traders by paying Rs 10 to Rs 12 per kg and after polishing it, they are mixing it in normal rice which is being sold at Rs 40 to Rs 42 per kg.
Every miller has to handover 67 per cent rice to APSCSC out of the procured paddy from Paddy Purchasing Centres (PPC). Millers have to clear previous years’ levy targets till 2015-16, and 2016-17 rice levy target is also pending for a quantity of 184 tonnes which is worth Rs 40 lakh.
To meet the levy conditions, PDS rice is being used by the millers. About 30 per cent of PDS rice is being diverted and mixed in the millers’ target.
Most of the white ration card holders are not consuming the PDS rice and after purchasing it, they immediately sell to the dealer or a trader in the village for Rs 8 to Rs 10, in turn, they sell the rice to millers for Rs 10 to Rs 12 by getting Rs 2 as profit.
“After re-cycling of PDS rice, we cannot found that it is PDS rice and millers claimed that it as rice milled from common paddy variety”, district civil supplies officer (DSO) G Mohan Babu told The Hans India. “To prevent misuse of PDS rice, we are making surprise checks of stocks at fair price shops across the district with 16 civil supplies deputy tahasildars (CSDT) by forming them as Task Force team,” the DSO elaborated.
“To prevent this practice, we are making surprise checks of stocks at rice mills and tallied stocks by comparing paddy procured from PPCs and available stock at the rice mill for every 15 days”, civil supplies district manager R Venkateswar Rao explained.
