In Wanaparthy, there is a problem with the Civil Supplies department in Velgonda and Panagal. Many bags of paddy are being sent to rice millers instead of where they are supposed to go. This shows that there is a lot of corruption happening. Even though the Collector’s office has given orders to stop this, officials are not doing anything about it. This is helping both the officials and the millers make a lot of money.
There is a connection between officials and millers that goes beyond politics. This has led to a shortage of paddy going to the FCI since 2019-20. Many rice mills have been marked as breaking the rules by February 29. Millers are finding ways to cheat the system, like making false claims and changing the amounts they are supposed to get, in order to make more money illegally. Even when someone gets blamed for what is happening, many people are not getting punished because they are working with corrupt officials.
One example of how powerful rice millers can be is a person who started with a small rice mill in Velgonda village two years ago. By using their connections and paying off officials, they were able to get more paddy than they were supposed to. They sold some of the paddy secretly to Karnataka and Maharashtra and made a lot of money. Recently, they bought two more rice mills in Panagal mandal for Rs.4.5 crore, which has surprised some honest rice millers.
Some millers are even getting rice from other districts to meet their quotas, even though they are not supposed to do that according to the Collector’s office. This situation needs to be fixed quickly by the authorities so that the distribution of paddy in the region can be fair and honest.
