A physical verification of custom milled rice at major rice mills across the State by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has met with resistance from the State government on the ground that it was causing hurdles to unloading of paddy at the mills with arrival of stock cultivated in the recent rabi peaking.
The physical verification of rice bags was taken up after the FCI detected in March that 4.54 lakh bags of rice valued at ₹83.69 crore went missing from 958 mills.
Sixty-two teams constituted by the FCI took up the inspection at 2,300 mills where rice of rabi last year and kharif this year was stored. However, the Civil Supplies Department of the State government had raised serious objection saying the procurement of rice by millers will be hit due to obstacles to unloading at their godowns. Instead, the department wanted the verification in May-June when the procurement got over. But, the FCI was unrelenting as it was mandatory to count the bags closely.
