Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar has requested the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to provide more space, and increase the rack movement without any delay. He said that the Union government must not escape from its responsibility of procuring paddy from farmers.
The Minister was talking to the millers from across the State here on Wednesday at the Secretariat. Civil Supplies Commissioner Anil Kumar was also present.
The millers informed the Minster that the FCI has been rejecting the rice being supplied by them, even fortified rice kernels, stating it’s low in quality, besides not providing storage.
“The millers are facing serious problems and are in deep crisis. All the godowns in the State are full and the FCI has failed to provide space for the supply of rice. We will be forced to opt out from custom milling if the situation continues,” they told the Minister. They said godowns in Suryapet, Khammam and Kothagudem are full and the FCI is not accepting rice even though godown space is available in neighbouring Jaggaiahpet. The millers informed the Minister that 294 millers are kept on blacklist, accusing them of low quality fortified rice kernels.
They said that about one crore metric tonnes of rice is already stored by them and another 1.13 crore metric tonnes of paddy is yet to be milled.
In addition, already soaked paddy from the past year, this year too, the present paddy would create problems in custom milling rice (CMR), they added.
The millers urged the Minister to permit milling of 15 lakh metric tonnes of boiled rice. They urged the Minister to auction the rice already stored with them.