Hyderabad: The Telangana government has ordered a Custom Milling Rice audit covering the last 10 to 12 years to review paddy procurement, rice milling operations, recoveries, legal proceedings and enforcement measures. The exercise marks the state’s most extensive review of the Custom Milling Rice (CMR) system since Telangana’s formation.
Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy directed officials to intensify efforts to recover government dues, identify systemic weaknesses and introduce reforms to strengthen accountability across the procurement chain.
The minister issued the directions during a high-level review meeting on Tuesday. Officials reviewed paddy procurement, Custom Milling Rice receivables and deliveries, district-wise and mill-wise defaults, pending recoveries, vigilance investigations and legal proceedings against defaulting millers.
Custom Milling Rice audit targets pending recoveries
Uttam Kumar Reddy said the government’s primary objective was to recover public money and government-owned foodgrain. He said recovery remained the priority, rather than punishment alone.
Officials informed the minister that legacy defaults accounted for a major share of the outstanding liabilities. However, they said the immediate focus remained on recovering long-pending dues from defaulting millers.
They added that the government was pursuing multiple recovery options, including cash payments, the return of paddy and the delivery of fine rice. Consequently, officials expect these measures to maximise recoveries.
The minister directed officials to prepare a mill-wise and time-bound recovery plan covering every pending case. He noted that the government had already made significant recoveries after allowing defaulting millers a limited settlement window.
Custom Milling Rice audit aims to protect public assets
Uttam Kumar Reddy said every bag of paddy procured under the Minimum Support Price (MSP) programme represented public money invested on behalf of Telangana’s farmers.
He said the Telangana State Civil Supplies Corporation entrusts procured paddy to empanelled rice millers. According to the minister, the millers must process the paddy and return the prescribed quantity and quality of rice for supply to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and distribution through the Public Distribution System.
The minister said every bag of paddy entrusted to a miller remained government property purchased with public money. He added that every kilogram diverted represented a loss to the people of Telangana, while every tonne of rice not returned weakened the Public Distribution System.