Haryana: Begin delivery of custom rice, Karnal millers urge govt
By Parveen Arora
Millers of the district have demanded the government to begin the delivery of custom-milled rice (CMR) without further delay. A delegation of millers met Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini two days back, highlighting the concerns due to the delay in the schedule.
They said the state started CMR delivery by the first week of November every year, due to which they were able to deliver complete CMR by March 31. However, for the past two seasons, the delivery had been delayed, with no progress even by early December.
Last year, delays were due to issues in finalising the supply of fortified rice kernels (FRK), 1 per cent of which is also supplied after mixing with CMR.
This year, the millers claimed that they had been permitted to procure FRK from the open market to ensure its quality. But due to delay in the physical verification of their mills, they were not able to fully process the paddy.
Raj Kumar Gupta, president of the District Karnal Rice Millers and Dealers Association, emphasised the importance of timely physical verification of mills by procurement agencies. “We cannot begin processing the paddy allocated to us until verification is completed as per the directions of the Union government. This process should have been done earlier, allowing us to start the processing on time, so that we can deliver CMR to the Food Corporation of India on time,” he said.
He said the millers were already under pressure to meet their CMR delivery. “We demand that the government permit us to start processing paddy immediately,” he said.
Saurabh Gupta, president of the Karnal Rice Millers and Dealers Association, highlighted several issues, including labour problems, in the coming days. As per the CMR policy, the millers have to deliver 25 per cent of the total rice to the FCI by the end of December, further 20 per cent by the end of January, 15 per cent in February, 25 per cent in March and the remaining by the end of April, he said.
“Paddy procurement was completed by November 15, yet we are unable to process the paddy allotted to us. Our labour is sitting idle, and many workers have returned to their home states due to the lack of work. We will face labour shortage in the coming days,” he said.
He also highlighted moisture-related issues. “In winter, increased moisture reduces the rice yield under CMR. Similarly, in summer, reduced moisture leads to shortages, with millers bearing the financial brunt,” he said, adding that delays in CMR deliveries forced the millers to pay holding charges. There was also a shortage of space to store rice in godowns, he stated.
This article has been republished from The Tribune.