Clear dues by June 30 or face FIR, rice millers told

Geetanjali Gayatri

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 20

With rice millers owing Rs 238.27 crore to the state government since 2011, the Food and Supplies Department plans to not only bring the defaulters to book but also take action against its officials failing to make the recoveries.

Setting a deadline of June 30 to clear all dues, the government has decided to register FIRs against the rice millers who have failed to mill the stock assigned to them and book or chargesheet the officials for failing in their duty.

According to information, two FIRs have already been registered against mill owners this season which began in October though the exact default will be assessed after June 30 deadline given to the millers for the paddy procured by the government or any of the state’s procurement agencies if an extension is not given.

The mills owe over 95,000 metric tonnes of rice to the government and various agencies which procure paddy during the procurement season. The paddy is assigned to the rice millers on the list drawn up by the committee headed by the Deputy Commissioner on the basis of their milling capacity. They are given milling schedules from October through June and the default is assessed on the basis of the stock that does not come back.

While one mill each defaulted in payment in 2011 and 2012 and 2013 and 2014 were the worst years as far as the recovery was concerned. In 2013, rice millers of eight districts defaulted in nearly Rs 131 crore of which 16 mills were in Karnal.

In 2014, 10 mills defaulted in payment of Rs 37.48 crore of which six were from Karnal. In 2016, three millers were booked for defaulting in payment of Rs 4.64 crore.

Sources in the department said that the mills, which default in payment, intentionally hold their stocks and make money by selling this in the open market.

“We are not going to treat default in payment lightly. While two cases have been registered this season, we have also registered 19 FIRs for defaults in previous years. For this season, we are not even going to spare our own officials and FIRs will be registered against millers and our district Food and Supply officers,” said Additional Chief Secretary (Food and Supplies) Ram Niwas.