With huge piles of paddy still lying in the mills, the Union Government has extended the deadline for Telangana to deliver the custom-milled rice (CMR) to the Central pool.
The State can now deliver the rice from the Kharif Marketing Season 2021-22 to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) till November 30, 2022.
Responding to a request from the State Government, the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, however, has cautioned the State government to ensure no ‘recycling’ of rice into the system.
Caution on recycling
Recycling is a dubious method where millers re-channelise the rice disbursed under the public distribution system back into the system by procuring it back at a lesser price and selling it at a premium.
The CMR activity hit a roadblock in June with the FCI stopping the procurement, citing irregularities in milling and the State’s stoppage of distribution of PMGKAY (PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana) rice after lifting rice from the Centre.
It, however, agreed to resume procurement after six weeks. This lag has resulted in a huge pile-up of paddy in the mills and godowns.
Sources said stocks of up to 50 lakh tonnes of paddy are to be milled. “We need some more time to clear the backlogs,” a miller said.
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