Rice Mills: After a Lag, Govt Plans Action Against CMR Defaulters

Karimnagar: After an official lag for years, the government now seems keen on targeting custom milling rice (CMR) defaulters. Besides intensifying raids on rice mills, cases have been registered against default millers based on the complaints from the civil supplies department.

Millers do backdoor business with CMR rice. Instead of the normal practice of returning the milled rice to the government, they make money by selling it in the market.

Instead of returning the rice in one go within a stipulated time, they return the rice in a phased manner; that too, if the government put pressure on them.

As this scenario worsened, vigilance and enforcement officials started raids on rice mills. Officials found a mismatch in the paddy supplied by the government and rice stocks available in mills.

Officials said some 3.43 lakh metric tonnes of paddy (worth Rs 87.89 crore) was missing in three rice mills in Jagtial district.

Recently, officials raided the Sri Abhaya Anjaneya Swamy Industries, Lakshmi Ganapathi Industries and Sri Lakshmi Balaji Industries located in Thakkallapally area of Jagtial rural mandal.

Paddy/rice worth Rs 87.89 crore was found missing. The civil supplies department reported this to the police.

Police registered cases against the owners of three rice mills. Some 2,163 metric tonnes of paddy was missing in the Sapthagiri rice mill in Jammikunta. Similar was the scene in many other rice mills, civil supplies sources said.

The sources said custom milled rice of the 2022-23 Kharif season was still remaining with millers in a big way.

“Millers failed to fulfill the norms of FCI. Soaked paddy was supplied during that season. So, the government auctioned the paddy piled up at millers.

However, the firm which got the contract in the auction also failed to pay the amount to the government.

While 1.24 lakh metric tonnes of paddy have been auctioned in Karimnagar, some 93,844 metric tonnes are still with millers. In Jagtial, 1.70 lakh metric tonnes was auctioned (93,872mt pending) followed by Peddapalli where 1.60 lakh metric tonnes was auctioned (42,644mt pending) and Rajanna-Sircilla where 93,295 metric tonnes auctioned (42,244mt pending).

However, Karimnagar district civil supplies manager M. Rajinikanth said there was no pending custom milled rice (CMR) in the district. Only 99,000 metric tonnes of rabi CMR for 2025–26 and 2 lakh metric tonnes from the kharif season remain pending, he said.