Karnal District Probe Exposes Major Lapses in Handling Rice Mill Defaulters
Serious irregularities have been uncovered during inspections of 58 rice mills in Karnal district, Haryana, which defaulted on delivering custom-milled rice (CMR) worth approximately Rs 520 crore to the government between the 2013-14 and 2024-25 seasons. A three-member committee, constituted by District Commissioner Uttam Singh, conducted the inspections to assess the status of properties owned by defaulter millers and their guarantors.
Committee Findings Reveal Systemic Failures
The committee, comprising Tehsildar Sandeep Sharma, District Revenue Accountant Rakesh Mittal, and a representative from the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, discovered that 16 mills had defaulted in the 2013-14 season alone. Alarmingly, no attachment proceedings were initiated against six of these mills, and the delay in action allegedly enabled one property to be sold without recovery efforts.
Manish Kumar Yadav, the District Revenue Officer (DRO), highlighted that paddy was allocated to some mills whose land was already linked to defaulting units. Despite this, millers reportedly secured fresh allocations by simply changing the names of their units. The failure to timely attach and auction properties allowed defaulters to continue operations under new identities, exacerbating financial losses.
Specific Cases Highlight Irregularities
In a case in Nilokheri, the department cited ongoing arbitration as a reason for not attaching a property. However, physical verification revealed that the original owners had transferred ownership, and another unit was operating at the site. In another instance, a mill that defaulted in 2013-14 with dues of about Rs 7.75 crore was found to have been sold around 2019-20. While the department claimed the owners had been jailed and later released, inspections showed the land had been levelled, and the department no longer held possession.
The report further indicated that although FIRs were registered in some cases and initial steps for property attachment were taken, auctions were not conducted to recover losses. In other scenarios, recovery proved impossible as mills operated on leased properties, leaving no assets in the names of the defaulters.
Departmental Oversights and Accountability Measures
Sources within the department revealed that in some cases, properties were attached, but the Revenue Department registered land without obtaining consent from the concerned department. District Commissioner Uttam Singh has directed the District Food Supplies Controller (DFSC) to submit a detailed report outlining how many properties have been attached and the actions taken so far. He has also requested an account of officials and employees involved in allotting paddy to already defaulting mills, along with details of properties owned by defaulters and their guarantors to facilitate auctions.
"The DFSC has been asked to submit a report to fix accountability and initiate auction," stated the DC, emphasizing the need for stringent measures to address these lapses.
This investigation underscores critical gaps in enforcement and recovery mechanisms, allowing defaulters to evade responsibility and continue operations, thereby impacting government revenue and agricultural supply chains in Haryana.
