During the last two months the department has recovered 7.60 LMT of custom milled rice from the rice millers. (DC File Image)

HYDERABAD: In an indication that things could be turning for the better, officials have indicated the Civil Supplies Corporation has had a 40 per cent increase in recoveries from rice millers. The seizure of PDS rice by the department has increased six times, they said.

During the last two months the department has recovered 7.60 LMT (lakh metric tonnes) at around 0.30 metric tonnes per day of custom milled rice from the rice millers. The department also procured 14.25 LMT of paddy worth Rs 3,100 crore.

The department has initiated measures to reduce its loans and interest burden. Civil supplies department minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy had pegged the debt of the department at around Rs 56,000 crore, up from Rs 3,300 crores in 2014. The annual interest burden of the corporation exceeds Rs 3,000 crores. The losses amount to Rs 11,000 crore.

The civil supplies department received around Rs 315 crore from the FCI, sources said. The department will receive Rs 950 crore which includes Rs 535 crore incurred by it for paddy transport. The recovery from the millers, though a good sign, has a long way to go for full recovery of around one crore ten lakh metric tonnes of paddy and 14 lakh metric tonnes of custom milled rice with them. The entire stock is from 2022-23

Published Date: January 28, 2024