Hyderabad: The civil supply department employees — from assistant manager, technical, to mandal level in-charge — have created a nexus colluding with top traders and rice millers in the state to siphon off huge quantity of rice from the public distribution system and minting crores.
About 600 metric tonnes of government subsidised rice from Telangana is stolen every month and sold in national and international markets, causing a loss of more than Rs 100 crore annually to the government. Besides, the nexus ensures that lakhs of citizens do not get their rationed rice each month. Several thousand litres of kerosene have also been stolen this way.
The reselling of stolen rice usually fetch several hundred crore profit to the racket. Since international markets are also involved they earn huge revenue at the cost of government and poor people in the state.
Cyberabad commissioner of police C.V. Anand, under whose supervision, a major rice scam was unearthed by the Special Operation Team recently, said that agents from Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra are also active in the racket. “After diverting huge quantity of rice, it is smuggled to Kakinada, Mumbai and Gujarat, from where it is exported to several foreign countries,” said Mr Anand.
The major quantity of the rice is being diverted from mandal level stock points and from ration shop dealers. The rice is purchased for Rs 1 per kg illegally by the racket or by paying the dealers and civil supply department employees, Cyberabad investigation officials say.
The rice is smuggled to the national markets in Bodhan of Nizamabad district, Haliya, Thipparthy of Nalgonda district, Kakinada in AP, Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
This year alone, Cyberabad police apprehended 36 people in 13 cases and seized 971 quintals of PDS rice. The police had also booked 19 cases of kerosene and apprehended 34 illegal kerosene suppliers, procurers and transporters along with 37,385 litres of kerosene.
Officers say the busted scam could be the tip of the iceberg, and there are a lot of major players lurking in the state diverting more rice. Mr Anand said that the government can take effective measures to check such scams.
“Remove benami ration card dealers and bogus ration card holders. Installation of the biometric system at ration dealer level to prevent pilferage can also be helpful,” said the police commissioner said.
