Hyderabad: State-wide inspections by Telangana Vigilance and Enforcement Department on Monday, January 12, revealed that over Rs 60 crore worth of paddy had been diverted from rice mills.
Out of the 19 mills inspected, 14 were found to be involved in serious irregularities, including diversion, shortage and misappropriation of Custom Milled Rice (CMR) paddy meant for Government distribution. More than 1.90 lakh quintals of paddy and about 1.72 lakh bags were found diverted or short.
Meanwhile, the other five mills were issued notices and placed under close surveillance for violations of record maintenance and statutory requirements.
A total of eight teams were deployed across nine districts for inspections, which revealed shortages worth Rs 19.73 crore in Kamareddy and Nizamabad districts, and diversion of Rs 19.32 crore worth of government paddy in Suryapet.
Paddy worth Rs 15.91 crore was found missing from two rice mills in Narayanpet, and shortages worth Rs 11.38 crore were found in Peddapalli. Additionally, diversions worth Rs 4.86 crore were detected in Mahabubabad, while Rs 88 lakh worth of CMR stock was found to be diverted in Rangareddy.
One rice mill operating at Poosala village of Sultanabad mandal in Peddapalli district, which goes by the name Janakirama Industries, was closed following the issue of a show-cause notice by the Civil Supplies Department for serious violations.
The Vigilance teams noted that several mills had been diverting paddy over multiple seasons, indicating a systematic and organised misuse of government-supplied paddy.
Multiple criminal cases are being registered against the defaulting rice millers, and the Civil Supplies Department in all affected districts has been asked to recover government losses, cancel licences, blacklist errant millers and initiate prosecution under relevant laws.
Additionally, show-cause notices have also been issued wherever record-keeping violations were noticed.
The public can inform the Vigilance Department about any irregularities or misuse of government funds or resources on the toll-free number 14432.
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