Govt reaps a whopping profit of Rs 1.1k cr from paddy sale bidding

Hyderabad: The State Civil Supplies department has earned a whopping Rs 1,110.51 crore profit through the fresh paddy tenders. The previous BRS government has made some uneven decisions which could have incurred a loss of Rs 1000 crore revenue to the State exchequer in the sale of damaged paddy due to unseasonal rains last year.

However, the bidders did not come forward even though the price was fixed less than Rs 3000 per metric tonne. Soon after coming to power, the new government scrapped the tenders and invited fresh one. In the new tender process, the government received bids from the buyers who tendered to pay more than Rs 3000 per metric tonne. According to this calculation, an additional amount of Rs 1,110.51 crore is accrued to the Civil Supplies department. As per the Minimum Support Price (MSP), the price of a metric tonne of paddy is Rs20,600. The previous government invited tenders and finalised the price at Rs17,015.19 per metric ton.

As per the previous tender, the officials said that the department would get Rs 5,885.55 crore for 34.59 lakh metric tonnes. According to MSP, the department would incur a loss of Rs1,239.99 crores. The buyers who won the tenders for less than that also did not come forward to pay for the amount. After the formation of the Congress government, the old tenders were cancelled, and fresh tenders were called. In the fresh tenders, the buyers bid at Rs.20,225.67 per metric tonne. It was an increase of Rs.3,210.48 per metric ton as compared to the old tender. According to the latest tender for a total of 34.59 lakh metric tonnes, Rs.6,996.06 crore revenue was generated. It was an increase of Rs.1,110.51 crore compared to the revenue expected from the old tenders.