In a major crackdown on illegal paddy, 1,000 quintals of paddy were seized from a rice mill in Pakhanjur Tahsil in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district, it was announced on Wednesday.
A joint team of officers from Revenue, Food and Mandi departments raided ‘Krishna Rice Mill’ in Pakhanjur and seized 2,500 sacks of paddy, a press release said.
It is the biggest catch in Kanker district, the release added.
Earlier, the team had caught serious weighing irregularities at the Haker paddy procurement centre in the district and 104 sacks of paddy were seized.
“The in-charges of five procurement centres (PV 32, PV 121, Matoli, Chhote Bethiya and Kukenar) have been removed and showcause notice was served to three procurement management committees,” Tahsildar Shekhar Mishra said.
According to the government, during the ongoing Kharif marketing season, by December 22, 33.90 lakh tonnes of paddy were purchased from 9.7 lakh farmers.