Nellore: Rice millers and farmers of Nellore and East Godavari districts are in a fix over boiled rice supplied to Kerala State Co-operative Consumer Federation Ltd, a government enterprise, on the occasion of Onam in 2012 and 2013. The federation is yet to pay Rs 52 crore to farmers and millers of Nellore and Rs 18 crore to their counterparts in East Godavari district. The East Godavari millers also supplied Rs 22 crore worth of rice to a trader who in turn supplied to KSCCF and this payment is also pending since 3 years. The huge outstanding from single customer hits the rice industry in both the districts very hard.
According to Nellore District Rice Milling Industry's president Nagireddy Subrahmanyam Reddy and president of Federation of Farmers Association C.S.R. Koti Reddy, officials of KSCCF led by M.D. Raja Nair came to Nellore and asked them to supply boiled rice in bulk quantity at fixed rate promising payments within a month in 2012.
Since KSCCF is a government organisation, millers and farmers happily supplied rice even incurring loss at times. Initially, the suppliers received payments as per the promise but they started delaying after January 2013 and totally stopped after May 2013.
However, the supplies were continued on the occasion of Onam festival in 2013. The accrued payment due to Nellore district was Rs 52 crore and for East Godavari farmers Rs 18 crore by then and only seven per cent of the amount was released so far.
The amounts invested for the supply of rice were borrowed from bankers, farmers and private lenders on high rate of interest by mortgaging the properties. All our earnings from this transaction as well as others are being transferred to interest payment. Farmers have been demanding for payment and we may not survive for long this way, Mr Subrahmanyam Reddy said lamenting over their plight.
Speaking to this newspaper, he said that Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had assured to clear the outstanding when a delegation of millers and farmers met him last year but nothing had happened yet. Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu also recommended their case to Kerala government, but in vain. He said that they are pinning their hopes on Kerala CM while referring to his promise to clear the outstanding during telephone conversations sometime ago.
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