Coarse Rice Accumulated In Telangana After Fine Rice Given To PDS Network
A slew of coarse rice has accumulated at different levels of the public distribution network since the Telangana government chose fine rice for the Public Distribution System (PDS). Notably, there have been rising fears that the accumulated coarse rice is getting spoiled. Nearly 25,000 tonnes of rice are stranded with ration dealers, out of 1.45 lakh metric tonnes of coarse rice. The remaining 1.20 lakh tonnes of coarse rice has been kept at godowns and mandal-level stock points in the state. Since the rice faces spoilage over time in different places, the responsibility is now placed on those who have stored it.
Duty of those who have stored the coarse rice – a senior in the civil supplies department
A senior official in the civil supplies department said, “It is the responsibility of those who have stored the coarse rice, and it should be returned to us as we have delivered it to them. I have given you my product; if the time has come for me to dispose of it, it is their duty to either return the rice as it was or purchase use of similar stock,”. The civil supplies department has recently issued a tender for receiving all the rice and auctioning it. The ration dealers, who are holding the stock, however, remained concerned about the way the authorities would clear the stocks from their storerooms and other warehouses. Moreover, a former leader of the Ration Dealers Association said on condition of anonymity: “The stocks that have been piled up are now infested. If the authorities accept the coarse rice in such a condition, they have issued the tenders for taking it back and auctioning the stock. But we have kept our fingers crossed for now”. According to the sources, the Telangana government’s failure to dispose of the stock to over 17,230 ration dealers is also one of the significant reasons. Furthermore, the sources added that we make a 100 per cent allotment. Other factors for accumulation include beneficiaries receiving rice from other Fair Price Shops due to the portability facility now available.