After nearly two months of uncertainty, the Centre has agreed to resume procurement of Telangana's custom-milled rice. The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has informed the Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of the States Civil Supplies Corporation of its decision to resume rice procurement.
The FCI halted the procurement after discovering discrepancies in some mills' stocks and the State's failure to distribute rice lifted from the Central pool under the Prime Minister's Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).
The poor are given 5 kilogrammes of rice per head under the scheme. Despite lifting 1.90 lakh tonnes of rice under the scheme for April and May 2022, the state failed to distribute it.
When the FCI halted the purchase of custom milled rice, the State recognized its error and agreed to distribute the rice. It also wrote a letter to the Centre, informing them of the resumption of PMGKAY rice distribution.
Meanwhile, the FCI's procurement halt had resulted in the accumulation of massive stocks in the mills, clogging storage space. With total stocks reaching 94 lakh tonnes, the state has decided to auction off about 10 lakh tonnes of paddy damaged by the recent rains.
With the issue escalating into yet another political squabble, the Food Corporation of India has responded to the State's letter by agreeing to reopen the procurement.
The FCI claimed in a letter to the corporation that "the state lifted 1.90 lakh tonnes of rice for the PMGKAY scheme in April and May but failed to distribute the same to beneficiaries."
It also stated that the State government took no concrete action against the millers who were found to be in error during the inspection. "We have received notification from the State government that distribution of PMGKAY rice has resumed and that action has been taken against the erring millers," it said.
