Civil supplies and revenue teams have stepped up surveillance at ration outlets to monitor stocks and prevent misuse of ration cards, some of which officials suspect were “managed” by well-to-do applicants.
ADILABAD: The state government’s new supply of fine quality rice is drawing unexpected interest from affluent households in the erstwhile Adilabad district, civil supplies officials revealed. Families that once off-loaded their subsidised “doddu biyyam” (coarse rice) to middlemen for ₹12-15 a kg are now turning up in person at fair-price shops to collect the premium grain, which retails for about ₹50 per kg in the open market.
Civil supplies and revenue teams have stepped up surveillance at ration outlets to monitor stocks and prevent misuse of ration cards, some of which officials suspect were “managed” by well-to-do applicants.
“People who arrive in cars or on high-end bikes are lining up for the rice,” said Shailesh Kumar of Indravelli mandal. “These same families never ate the coarse variety — they used to sell it.”
A fair price dealer in Adilabad town’s Vidyanagar Colony (name withheld) added: “No one wants to miss the chance to pick up fine rice. For poorer and lower middle class families, it’s a real relief on the household budget.”
Officials say the upgraded grain is meant to improve nutrition among low-income households, but acknowledge that stronger verification of ration cards may be needed to ensure the subsidy reaches its intended beneficiaries.
Distribution at a glance
• Adilabad district: 3,120 metric tonnes of fine rice allocated to 350 ration shops across 18 mandals.
• Komaram Bheem Asifabad district: 3,000 metric tonnes earmarked for 314 outlets.
