The Centre has extended the deadline for Telangana to supply custom milled rice to the Central pool to August 31, following representation from millers.

The deadline has been extended to August 31 for the rabi 2020-21 season and the kharif 2021-22 season. While the 2020-21 rice was to be given by June 30, the deadline for kharif rice was July 31. The extension was given following representations from rice millers, who lost about six weeks after the Centre stopped procurement by the Food Corporation of India (FCI).

Now, the mills are expected to clear backlogs of 30 lakh tonnes of rice from both the seasons.

‘No more extension’

The Centre stopped the procurement process after finding serious discrepancies in stock figures, besides the quality issues. The Centre was also upset with the State government for not distributing rice under the PMGKAY (PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana) even after lifting of huge quantities from the Central pool.

Asking the Telangana government to conform to the norms prescribed, the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, cautioned that there would not be any further extensions to dispose of the remaining rice.

It asked the State government and the FCI to ensure that there will not be any recycling of rice.

What is recycling

Recycling takes place when unscrupulous elements infuse the rice distributed through the public distribution system back into the procurement channels. This causes huge losses to the exchequer as the offenders buy the PDS rice at a low price and sell it at a higher price offered by the FCI. “You should ensure that only the rice verified during the recent physical verification will be supplied to the FCI,” the Ministry said in a letter addressed to the Commissioner of Consumer Affairs (Food and Civil Supplies) Department

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