Telangana Govt caps rice prices, intensifies crackdown

Hyderabad: The Civil Supplies Department has intensified its crackdown on artificial scarcity, price manipulation and irregularities in the rice trade, enforcing strict maximum retail prices (MRPs) to protect consumers from exploitation.

Acting on the directions of Civil Supplies Commissioner and Ex-Officio Principal Secretary to Government, M. Stephen Raveendra, the Enforcement Task Force (ETF), in coordination with the Legal Metrology Department, conducted a statewide enforcement drive from October 29 to November 5.

As part of the measures to ensure affordable rice, the department has fixed maximum retail prices at Rs 66 per kg for BPT/KNM, Rs74 per kg for RNR/Telangana Sona and Rs79 per kg for HMT/JSR varieties. Millers and traders have been directed to prominently print the prescribed MRPs on all 26-kg rice bags to ensure transparency and prevent overcharging.

During the week-long drive, Enforcement Task Force teams conducted 1,141 surprise inspections at rice mills, wholesale establishments and retail outlets. These inspections resulted in 55 cases, including 35 criminal cases, against violators. Separately, the Legal Metrology Department carried out 1,545 inspections across the state and booked 280 cases for various violations.

The inspections exposed several irregularities, including weight manipulation, overcharging and illegal trading practices. In some instances, traders were found affixing labels indicating 26 kg on bags containing only 25 kg of rice. Officials also detected traders covering original manufacturer-printed prices with higher price stickers, hoarding Public Distribution System (PDS) rice and operating without mandatory GST and FSSAI license.

The department is also preparing to invoke the Preventive Detention (PD) Act against habitual offenders involved in repeated PDS rice hoarding and market manipulation. Such violators will face stringent legal action under the Essential Commodities Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), officials said.

The Civil Supplies Department has made it clear that the enforcement drive will continue and that surveillance will be intensified across the state. It warned traders against violating prescribed MRPs, manipulating weights or engaging in illegal activities, stressing that strict action would be taken to safeguard consumer interests and maintain transparency in the rice market.

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Venkateshwarlu Kolishetty

Venkateshwarlu Kolishetty