The collectors were asked to intervene directly and store the rice in intermediate warehouses if the millers delayed the collection.

Hyderabad: Minister of Civil Supplies N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Saturday directed the district collectors to seriously address any procurement issues by coordinating with the Civil Supplies Commissioner. In a video conference with collectors and other officials involved in minimum support price operations, he shared with them the concerns raised by government advisor Mohd Shabbir Ali of Kamareddy and MPs Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and others regarding local procurement issues .

The collectors were asked to intervene directly and store the rice in intermediate warehouses if the millers delayed the collection. The Minister gave district collectors authority to take local decisions while also keeping the Commissioner of Civil Supplies informed to ensure smooth operations. The government has created buffer warehouses with a storage capacity of 30 lakh metric tonnes to meet any contingency. In case of delays, district collectors were asked to ensure that rice was stored in warehouses managed by the State Warehousing Corporation or agricultural marketing committees. Uttam Kumar Reddy said 4,598 rice procurement centers were currently operational and urged the officials to open all 7,572 centres.