Telangana rice prices: Rs 66, Rs 74 and Rs 79 a kg are the limits; inspection drive finds 25-kg bags marked 26 kg

Telangana rice prices now have to be printed on the bag. The Civil Supplies department has told every miller and trader in the state that BPT/KNM rice cannot cross Rs 66 a kg, RNR/Telangana Sona Rs 74 and HMT/JSR Rs 79, and that each 26-kg bag must carry that maximum retail price in plain view.

A statewide drive ordered by Commissioner M Stephen Raveendra ran from 29 October to 5 November. Enforcement Task Force teams made 1,141 surprise visits to mills, wholesale points and retail shops, and their tally stands at 55 cases, 35 criminal cases. The Legal Metrology department logged 1,545 inspections and 280 cases.

A kilo short in the bag

Officials said some bags marked 26 kg held just 25 kg. Elsewhere, a sticker showing a much steeper rate had been pasted over the price set by the manufacturer. Teams also came across stocks of ration rice being held back, and businesses running without GST or FSSAI registration.

The Preventive Detention Act is under consideration for repeat offenders who hoard ration rice or rig market prices. They can also be charged under the Essential Commodities Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

From Rs 100 a kg to a fixed limit

In late October, retail shops were asking about Rs 100 a kg for JSR, Rs 91 for RNR and Rs 90 for HMT. On Wednesday, 28 October, the department summoned millers and wholesalers from Miryalaguda, Nizamabad and Nalgonda. A day later, the commissioner put state stocks at 28 lakh tonnes, enough until October 2027. On Friday, 30 October, Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy warned traders over hoarding and asked consumers not to buy in panic, as inspection teams covered the trading hubs of Begum Bazaar, Nampally and Maharajgunj.

The limits were fixed on 31 October after the commissioner met the State Rice Millers’ Association. Additional collectors in Nagarkurnool and Wanaparthy then repeated them to traders in their districts.

Shops did not all fall in line. By early November, some in Hyderabad’s Ramnagar had put up price boards, but a wholesaler at ECIL said millers were not offering rates that let him keep to the limit. A retailer in SR Nagar said he had paid more for his existing stock and would cut prices only when fresh supply arrived.

A further step now rests with the state. On Friday, 6 November, the Union food ministry cleared Telangana and four other southern states to cap how much rice and paddy a trader may hold. Any such limit needs a state control order and can run until 31 January 2027.