CHENNAI: The CID wing of Civil Supplies Department has seized 5,200 quintal of PDS rice worth Rs 62.5 lakh during a vigorous drive launched during the past two months. The officials have registered more than 1,300 cases so far.The spur in growth of black market of PDS rice in State has been attributed by the officials to the poor quality and shortage of boiled rice in neighbouring states. “Due to hilly terrain, paddy cultivation is less in Kerala, leading to shortage,” ADGP, Civil Supplies-CID, K Radhakrishnan told Express. “Boiled rice is sold at Rs 2 through the PDS in the State, but the people seem to like our variety,” he said adding that they also use it even for fermentation and manufacture of alcohol. In Andhra Pradesh, raw rice was the main crop. But, people in the coastal areas prefer the boiled variety. What lures black marketeers to Tamil Nadu is the abundance of rice in the State and low cost, he said and added that it was being distributed free of cost by the new government now. For instance, a total of 3.5 lakh tonnes of rice were made available to all the ration shops in June. “Over the decades, the loopholes in the system has led to a flourishing black market, which in turn made ordinary men into millionaires.”According to sources, a “big fish” owns mills in places like Bangarpet in Karnataka, where the PDS rice is taken for polishing to get rid of the brown stains on the grain. Once polished, these rice are brought sold in the open market in Tamil Nadu, sources said.Recycling is another modus operandi. According to sources, agents have to dispatch 67 per cent of the total quantity received from the government for hulling. But it is not always the same consignment that returns to the godowns, they claim. Since cleaning and drying is a laborious process, the agents purchase PDS rice at `4 a kg and dispatch them. “They clean the government paddy thoroughly and sell them in the open market for more than `40,” the sources said adding that there was no mechanism in place to check the vicious cycle.Radhakrishnan said the focus of the CID wing was to check diversion of PDS rice to other States.
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