CHENNAI: To prevent smuggling of PDS rice to Andhra, Kerala and other States, the Tamil Nadu Food and Civil supplies department plans to introduce a QR code-based security system for rice bags ferried out of its godowns.
The system will also help the government prosecute smugglers. Officials at the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TN CSC), the agency responsible for procurement, storage and transportation of essential items for fair price shops, said QR codes will be introduced for every rice bag stored at the godowns.
“The location of rice bags will be tracked from mills to ensure rice is supplied only to ration shops. The modalities for the enhanced security system are being worked out,” said an official. “Apart from affixing the QR code to rice bags, the system to monitor the location of the vehicles ferrying the PDS commodities will also be put in place,” added an official.
Although the Union government made installation of location- tracking devices mandatory for PDS vehicles in 2012, the State has yet to set up a control room to monitor the vehicle movement. According to the TN civil supplies criminal investigation department (CS-CID), rice meant for the public distribution system is being smuggled from ration shops, godowns and mills.
‘Rice smugglers go scot-free as source of stolen PDS bags difficult to establish’
The quantity of leakage from the ration shops is low compared to that from mills and godowns, said sources. Rice is also purchased from cardholders and smuggled to Andhra Pradesh on two wheelers via Tiruvallur district. In fact, between May 7, 2021 and August 30, 2022, the CS-CID has arrested 11,091 persons and seized commodities worth Rs 11.3 crore.
This includes 77,346 quintals of ration rice valued at Rs 4.37 crore. The arrested persons include truck drivers and cleaners of trucks, godown workers and a few members of the public. According to Abhash Kumar, DGP of CSCID, culprits often go scot-free because the department is unable to establish the source of the smuggled rice bags.
“In the last eight months, we have seized a huge quantity of ration shop rice running up to several metric tonnes (MT). It would be extremely difficult to prosecute the mill owner or godown in-charge based only on the truck driver and cleaner’s statement,” he said.
In a few cases, when the CS-CID has questioned mill owners, they have flatly denied their involvement claiming they never received any PDS rice bags. The truckers also blame the drivers and cleaners for misusing their vehicles, explained Abhash Kumar.
“A modern security system and other measures are essential to put an end to these crimes,” he said. There are 21 modern rice mills under the management of the TNCSC.
