Hans News Service Hyderabad

Ina decisive move to safeguard the state’s paddy procurement and public distribution system, the Telangana State Civil Supplies Department on Friday inducted 28 highly trained police personnel from the elite Greyhounds and OCTOPUS units into its Enforcement and Vigilance wing to crack down on defaulting rice millers.

Commissioner of Civil Supplies M Stephen Raveendra chaired a high-level briefing at Civil Supplies Bhavan to formally welcome the newly attached personnel and outline their strategic mandate.

Recognising that public distribution and civil supplies operations are a new domain for the tactical units, the Commissioner said the personnel had already undergone a specialised three-day training programme tailored to departmental protocols.

The personnel were also trained at the Telangana Police Academy in various legal aspects relating to essential commodities and enforcement procedures.

During the briefing, Raveendra highlighted the scale of the department’s operations and the state’s record-breaking paddy procurement during the KMS 2025-26 season.

He said Telangana had successfully procured 154 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of paddy during the procurement cycle.

He noted that the State government had spent around Rs 40,000 crore during the last procurement season to support the farming community and ensure smooth procurement operations.

The newly deputed personnel, leveraging their expertise in tactical operations, intelligence gathering and surprise inspections, will function as special task teams under the Enforcement and Vigilance wing.

The teams will be deployed across the state to conduct intensive field inspections of rice mills identified as defaulting and verify compliance with government regulations. Their deployment is aimed at strengthening enforcement mechanisms and preventing the misappropriation of government-owned paddy and rice stocks.

The Commissioner issued a stern warning that the department would follow a strict zero-tolerance policy towards misappropriation, diversion of stocks and other operational violations.

He said criminal cases would be registered immediately against millers found violating government regulations and that stringent legal action would be initiated against those responsible.

The deployment of the specialised personnel is expected to strengthen the Civil Supplies Department’s enforcement capabilities and ensure greater accountability among rice millers involved in the state’s procurement and public distribution operations.