CID Probes Diversion Of Nearly 1 Lakh Tonne Of Fine Rice
Millers remain tight-lipped as 3,000 tonnes recovered during investigation
Hyderabad: The Crime Investigation Department (CID) is probing the alleged diversion of nearly one lakh metric tonnes of fine rice (sanna biyyam) out of the 1.67 lakh metric tonnes allocated to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) during the Kharif 2025-26 season.
According to official sources, rice millers, mostly from northern Telangana, allegedly supplied coarse rice to the FCI in place of fine rice, violating conditions laid down by the state authorities. An estimated 80,000 to 90,000 metric tonnes may have been diverted, while about 3,000 tonnes have been recovered so far.
The Union government’s FCI sets targets for the state government to meet national requirements for coarse and fine varieties of rice. The allocation included 1.67 lakh metric tonnes of fine rice, which millers were required to deliver under the prescribed conditions.
The alleged violations were reported mainly from the erstwhile Medak, Karimnagar and Adilabad districts, where millers had earlier sought permission to convert ‘Grade A’ rice into the ‘common’ category.
Following their request, the Civil Supplies department issued a memo on August 24 permitting millers to deliver boiled fine rice under the common category to the FCI, as the agency does not accept the variety under the Grade A category.
Under the policy decision relating to paddy procurement for Kharif 2025-26, millers were required to pay a differential amount of Rs 34.21 per quintal to protect the interests of the Civil Supplies Corporation.
Official sources said some millers paid the conversion amount and supplied rice to the FCI, while several others allegedly failed to pay the amount despite making deliveries.
Following the suspected violations, the Civil Supplies department recently requested the Director-General of Police (DGP) to direct the CID to investigate the matter across the state.
“During the probe 3,000 MTs of rice have already been recovered. This close to 1 lakh is an estimated figure and yet to be confirmed. Let the investigation take its course,” said a higher official.
The official said the investigation would establish the extent of the violations and the number of millers involved.
“Since the investigation is going on, how many of such cases there will be known,” added the official.
Rice millers and their representatives declined to comment on the investigation, which involves supplies made to the FCI. State-level representatives of the millers did not respond to calls from Deccan Chronicle.
The CID investigation is expected to establish the quantity of rice involved and determine whether millers violated the conditions governing conversion and delivery to the FCI.
