Telangana Vigilance Steps Up Rice Mill Inspections Over CMR Fraud
Vigilance officials of the Telangana State Civil Supplies Corporation have intensified inspections of rice mills across districts including Nirmal, Mancherial, Karimnagar, Peddapalli, Bhupalpally, and Warangal following allegations of large-scale Custom Milled Rice (CMR) misappropriation.
The probe focuses on millers who allegedly diverted state-supplied paddy and failed to return the mandated milled rice. Authorities are also investigating allegations that funds generated through the diversion of CMR were routed into real estate and the film industry. A vigilance officer confirmed that properties and land investments belonging to mill owners implicated in the fraud could be attached to recover the dues.
Recent enforcement actions have led to police cases and statutory notices in multiple districts. In Nirmal district, Khanapur police registered a case against former MLA Anjeema Rekha Naik, owner of ARS Industries Rice Mill located at Sattenapalli. Officials found that government-supplied paddy valued at ₹40.96 crore had allegedly been misappropriated by the mill.
In Mancherial district, Luxettipet police served notices under Sections 3(1) and 3(2) of the Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980, to Gampa Santosh Kumar. Kumar, the managing partner of Ram Laxman Industries Rice Mill at Lingapur village in Dandepalli mandal, faces allegations of diverting 6,170.643 metric tonnes of paddy worth ₹15.70 crore into the black market.
The Telangana government has directed the civil supplies corporation to initiate stern legal action and recover the missing funds. Authorities have been instructed to invoke the Preventive Detention (PD) Act against defaulting millers to deter future offences.
Personnel from specialised units, including Greyhounds and OCTOPUS, have been deployed to assist the civil supplies department with inspections and inquiries. In response to the intensifying crackdown, several mill owners backed by local leaders are reportedly weighing options to clear their pending CMR quotas or pay the required penalty amounts directly to the state government.
