Hyderabad: The Telangana govt has ordered a comprehensive audit of the custom milling rice (CMR) system covering the past 10 to 12 years, marking the first such exercise since the state’s formation. The move is aimed at recovering pending dues from defaulting rice mills and plugging loopholes in the procurement system.The decision was taken at a high-level review meeting chaired by irrigation and civil supplies minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Tuesday. Officials were directed to review paddy procurement, CMR deliveries, pending dues, vigilance investigations, recovery proceedings, and legal action taken against defaulting rice mills over the past decade.The minister said the objective was not merely to penalise defaulters but to recover every rupee and every grain belonging to the govt. He instructed officials to prepare a mill-wise recovery plan with clear timelines and maximise recoveries through cash payments, return of paddy, or supply of quality rice.According to officials, most of the pending dues pertain to previous years, and significant recoveries have already been made after defaulting millers were given time to clear their liabilities.The meeting also reviewed inspections conducted by the vigilance and enforcement department, criminal cases registered against defaulting millers, and recovery proceedings. Officials said physical verification of stocks, scrutiny of stock registers, and investigations into the suspected diversion of govt paddy and rice would continue. Criminal cases and administrative action, including blacklisting of habitual defaulters, will be initiated wherever violations are detected, added the officials.The govt also decided to overhaul the CMR system by revising control orders and introducing stricter contractual safeguards, stronger bank guarantees, and tougher penalties for defaults.To strengthen monitoring, the proposed reforms include QR code-enabled gunny bags, GPS-based vehicle tracking, geo-tagged inspections, real-time stock reconciliation, integration of procurement, milling and Food Corporation of India databases, early warning systems, and risk-based audits of rice mills.Uttam said procurement at the minimum support price (MSP) and timely payments to farmers would continue without disruption. He added that honest rice millers had nothing to fear, while those found diverting govt stocks or violating contractual obligations would face stringent legal action.
