No action over millers refusing to give govt over 90,000 quintal rice

BHANDARA: If a common man does not pay government dues, the administration issues revenue recovery certificate to recover the dues, including by confiscating his property or even imprisoning the person. However, this government rule does not seem to apply to rice mill owners of Gondia and Nagpur. For the last two years, rice millers have neither deposited 90,000 quintals of rice to government godowns as required under their contract, nor paid Rs 20 crore as the price of the rice.However, no action is being taken against even a single rice miller.
The tribal development department has a policy of purchasing paddy from farmers in the tribal belts of the state. The scheme, known as monopoly paddy purchase, is implemented by the Tribal Development Corporation (TDC), which purchases the paddy and gives it to the rice millers for milling. After milling, specified quantity of polished rice is supposed to be deposited into government godowns.
The regional office of TDC, Gadchiroli, gave 1.34 lakh quintal of paddy (costing Rs 16.81 crore) to 28 rice millers of Gondia and Nagpur in year 2012-2013. As per the contract, the rice mill owners were to deposit 90,109 quintal of rice (worth Rs 16.67 crore) to TDC within 45 days of lifting the paddy. Mill owners who fail to deposit rice in stipulated time have to deposit 25% more rice
However, the rice mill owners have not deposited a single kilogram of rice to TDC. They have also ignored reminders from TDC and food and civil supplies department of the state.
The food and civil supplies department had asked district collectors to take criminal action against the rice millers, but political pressure has put paid to any action. A special meeting was also convened in Nagpur in July 2013, presided over by the then food and civil supplies minister Anil Deshmukh, who ordered the district collectors to file criminal complaints, confiscate properties or forfeit bank guarantees of the rice millers.
Even as the district collectors assured to follow orders, rice mill owners are yet to deposit rice with TDC.
With a new government now in place in the state, it remains to be seen whether the food and civil supplies minister will initiate criminal procedure against the rice mill owners.