ADC recommends vigilance probe into Bihar paddy at Karnal mill

Days after huge quantities of paddy from Bihar was recovered at a rice mill in Mohdinpur in the district, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Yash Jaluka has recommended an inquiry by the district vigilance committee. The action was taken based on a report by the District Marketing Enforcement Officer (DMEO) of the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB), who conducted the raid with a naib tehsildar in the mill.

As per officials, the report revealed that the mill owner admitted to procuring the paddy from Bihar. The administration subsequently recovered the market fee and Haryana Rural Development Fee (HRDF). “I have received the report, which indicates several discrepancies. The miller admitted to bringing parmal variety from Bihar. I have recommended an inquiry to find the entire process,” said Jaluka.

He said the physical verification of other mills was going on to identify irregularities in the allocation of paddy under the custom-milled rice (CMR) policy.

The DMEO, Saurabh Choudhary, has also written to the District Food and Supplies Controller (DFSC) for details of the physical verification conducted at the mill where the Bihar paddy was found.

Officials said physical verification was mandatory under the CMR policy after the completion of paddy procurement. The DFSC has also been asked to provide the mill layout details where the stock is stored.

“I have asked the DFSC to provide the physical verification record if it has been conducted at the mill,” said the DMEO.

The district administration had earlier seized two truckloads of parmal paddy from Bihar inside the mill. After inspection, an additional stock of nearly 3,000 quintals was also found there. The mill owner failed to present the required documentation for the stock. Additionally, the paddy bags were not tagged, violating the CMR policy requirements, an official said.

Although the owner paid the market fee and HRDF, no documents were provided for the additional stock found on the premises, he added.