Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamlakar has requested Food Corporation of India (FCI) to provide more space and increase rack movement without any delay. He said that the central government should not avoid its responsibility of buying paddy from the farmers.
The minister was talking to mill owners from across the state at the secretariat on Wednesday. Civil Supplies Commissioner Anil Kumar was also present.
The mill owners informed the minister that FCI was rejecting the rice supplied by them, even fortified rice grains, saying it was of low quality, besides not providing storage facilities.
“Millers are facing serious problems and are in deep distress. All the godowns in the state are full and FCI has failed to provide space for supply of rice. If the situation continues we will be forced to opt out of custom milling,” he told the minister. He said godowns at Suryapet, Khammam and Kothagudem are full and FCI is not accepting rice despite availability of godown space in neighboring Jaggayapet. Millers told the minister that 294 millers have been blacklisted alleging low quality fortified rice grains.
He said that about one crore metric tonnes of rice is already stored with them and 1.13 crore metric tonnes of paddy is yet to be milled.
Besides, last year’s already soaked paddy, this year’s current paddy will also create problems in Custom Milling Rice (CMR), he added.
Mill owners urged the minister to allow milling of 15 lakh metric tonnes of parboiled rice. He urged the minister to auction the rice already stored with him.