HYDERABAD: The state civil demand department has decided to seek bank guarantees and security deposits based on the performance of flour millers, following the recommendations of the cabinet sub-committee on paddy related issues.
Heeding the repeated pleas of the millers, the Civil Supply Department has decided to pay additional milling charges of Rs 30 for coarse seed paddy and Rs 40 for fine seed paddy.
According to the ministry, the rice milling fee has not been revised since 2018, which is why the decision was made to increase the price. The price increase was approved on the condition that custom-milled rice is delivered within the deadline set by the Indian government.
If a dispute arises as to whether a particular ingredient is a coarse or fine variety, the Agricultural Extension Officer (AEO) will have 24 hours after the miller files a complaint online within 48 hours. They are given the responsibility to make a decision within the next few days.
For this purpose, each mill will be assigned an AEO and its information will be displayed at the paddy purchasing center. Disputes arising regarding the decision of the AEO will be referred to the Revenue Department Committee and the District Level Committee.
The procured paddy is stored at agricultural market committees or state warehouse corporations and allocated to millers who deliver it on time. The GO said the policy would help small millers get small quotas against bank guarantees and security deposits.
However, the Raw Rice Millers Association expressed displeasure at making the additional milling fee conditional. “Delays may occur due to gunny bag issues or godown availability. These are issues beyond our control. Additionally, our association, which represents 2,850 rice millers, has been invited to the talks. Only the boiled rice millers association was called for the talks,” said P. Ganapati Reddy, president of the uncooked rice millers association.
Mr. Ganapati Reddy informed that it is difficult to meet the supply standards of fine rice and said, “Even if we mill 5 quintals of paddy, we will not be able to meet the 67 kg of rice that we have to deliver. , we can only harvest 58 to 59 kg,” he said. Costs increased due to the installation of a mixer (to mix the fortified rice grains), a color sortex machine (to remove impurities), and an increase in electricity rates. In this situation, the miller is not in a position to give a bank guarantee. ”
Elaborating further, he explained that the Sortex machine reduces the amount by 3-4 kg per quintal to provide quality rice free of impurities. If the proportion of high-grade rice is not corrected, the government will have to pay $300 in compensation. Milling charges should be increased to £150 for each pending payment, storage charge, transport of civil goods and milling charge.
“We are told that the norms have been revised by the central government itself, which is detrimental to the survival of an industry that supports the livelihood of lakhs of people,” Ganapati Reddy said.
