Hyderabad: Chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday urged the Centre to procure 30 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of boiled rice from Telangana during the yasangi (rabi) season, saying the crop harvested this season is suitable for parboiled rice milling.Revanth, along with civil supplies minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, met Union minister for food and public distribution Pralhad Joshi at his residence in Delhi. The CM briefed the Union minister on the supply of custom milling rice over the past six yasangi seasons and the production of boiled rice, supported by statistical data. Joshi approved in principle the proposal for supply of boiled rice submitted by the state govt at the meeting. 90 LMT paddy likelyRevanth and Uttam reminded Joshi that officials of the ministry of food had earlier suggested increasing boiled rice supply in view of rising demand across the country. The CM told Joshi that around 90 LMT of paddy is expected to be produced in Telangana during the current yasangi season and that the harvested crop is suitable for milling into parboiled rice. “Telangana is ready to supply a total of 30 LMT of parboiled rice (with 5% broken rice content) and 5 LMT of raw rice (with 10% broken rice content) from the yasangi harvest,” Revanth said.The CM also appealed to the Centre to immediately release outstanding dues of ₹1,468.94 crore pertaining to the procurement of additional levy from the 2014-15 kharif season. Revanth and Uttam told the Union minister that Telangana is the largest paddy producing state and that payments are deposited into farmers’ accounts within 48 hours of procurement. Citing financial challenges faced by the state civil supplies department, the CM urged Joshi to expedite the release of pending arrears. Joshi was also requested to immediately resume distribution of fortified rice kernels. The fortified rice was supplied through schools, hostels and ICDS centres to prevent anaemia and nutritional deficiencies among children. The CM said the scheme had been stopped recently.
