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TGCSC cranks up crackdown on PDS rice black marketing
Vigilance & Enforcement Wing of Telangana Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd seizes over 44,000 quintals of PDS rice till date
Hyderabad: The instances of black marketing of PDS rice this year were more than double compared to last five years in Telangana. The Vigilance Wing which intensified crackdown this year has already seized more than 44,000 quintals of PDS rice. These figures may go up to 60,000 quintals by the year end.
The value of seized PDS rice stands at Rs 14 crore this year after the Vigilance & Enforcement Wing of TGCSC (Telangana Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd) intensified crackdown beginning from January. Over the past five years beginning from 2019 the average seized quantity was just over 14,000 quintals of rice. In the recent past, the maximum quantity seized was 20,330 quintals in 2021, but this came down drastically to 8,940 quintals in the election year for Assembly in 2023.
Similarly, under Section 6A in The Essential Commodities Act, 1955, a total of 402 cases were filed this year alone, when the average during the last five years stood at 183 cases. A total of 351 FIRs were filed. For the first time in recent history, 28,750 KLs of diesel was seized by the department, along with 184 vehicles. “The vigilance & enforcement wing of TGCSC Ltd is fully geared up and put on high alert, in seizures of PDS rice being diverted illegally. The average seizures of PDS rice was enhanced by nine times. This is all because of the strong vigilance team which now has 30 uniformed policemen. Earlier, only retired policemen were there. Now we have on-duty ACP officers and this shall continue,” informed a higher official.
Besides this stringent enforcement of existing rules and new policy being adopted for paddy procurement and custom milling rice (CMR), the millers are also supporting the Corporation in faster milling of rice and in logistics. The Corporation recovered a quantity of 1 lakh metric tonnes of rice worth Rs 408 crore from defaulters in a span of nine months. “After criminal cases were booked the millers are also supporting the authorities. They know if CMR is not given on time they would face problems. Now the delivery has turned faster by almost 55% when compared to previous years, during the same period. For instance if the quantity was 100 quintals earlier, this time it is 155 quintals, thereby increasing the scope for faster revenue generation,” added the official.
