Govt orders steps to check recycling of rice for poor

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 21

A day after The Tribune uncovered a scam involving efforts to recycle ‘rice for poor’ in this year’s custom milling of paddy by some unscrupulous millers, the state government on Friday ordered sterner measures to check the fraud.

Ram Niwas, Additional Chief Secretary, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, wrote to the Deputy Commissioners of paddy growing districts of Karnal, Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Ambala, Rohtak, Palwal, Yamunanagar, Fatehabad, Sirsa, Jind, Panipat, Faridabad and Sonepat, listing some measures to stop this fraud.

In a news item “Rice for poor finds way to Haryana mills” on Thursday, The Tribune had highlighted how PDS rice meant for the poor has allegedly landed in some rice mills of Haryana, where it is likely to be recycled into the milling process for this year’s paddy by showing bogus procurement of the crop.

The report has highlighted how poor lose their share of subsidised rice they ought to get for Rs 2 a kg while the government loses by paying MSP for the crop that never was.

“As you know procurement of paddy is to begin from October 1, some unscrupulous rice millers may try to recycle PDS rice meant for the poor in different parts of the country. The recycled rice may be used against bogus bills to supply to the FCI showing it as genuine purchase from farmers,” the ACS has said in his communication.

Niwas has ordered that 100 per cent verification of all rice mills, which are to be giving rice for custom milling, by committees headed by senior officers and comprising officers of the procurement agencies, marketing board, sales tax, and representatives of the rice millers’ association.

The order says that if any stock of rice is found with any millers, the committees must verify the purchase bills to its last source so as find whether these bills are genuine or bogus.

Sources say that it has come to the notice of the department that millers often generate first bill of PDS rice through a bogus firm and then route the stock through a number of genuine or fake firms who all show its purchase and sale to the other so that it is difficult to reach to the bottom of the fraud.

Since rice attracts zero GST, it is easier for the millers to get the PDS rice routed through any number of firms they desire.

The ACS has sought compliance of all these measures before September 30.