Hyderabad: Irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy and BRS deputy floor leader T Harish Rao on Monday engaged in a heated debate over the export of rice from Telangana to the Philippines. While Uttam said the strategic initiative aimed to transform the state from an FCI-dependent, paddy-surplus region into a globally recognised rice export powerhouse, Harish alleged that it was a scam and demanded the formation of a House committee to probe the issue.Uttam said that by consciously promoting Telangana rice as a premium global brand, the govt aims to safeguard farmers’ interests and secure better returns for them. He asked Harish not to make baseless allegations and accused the BRS leader of viewing the govt’s initiative through his own prism in a deliberate attempt to discredit what is seen as an achievement of the Congress govt.“Harish is making these allegations because the rice export contract was not awarded to the party he had recommended. At one point, Harish himself approached the civil supplies commissioner, recommending a person of his choice to be involved in the rice export process. If the House committee sought by the BRS is to be instituted, it should solely examine his own dealings during his tenure as a minister,” Uttam said.On his part, Harish persisted in his demand for the minister to clarify whether one Prem Chand, an accused in CBI and other cases, was appointed as an advisor; why the contract was not awarded to NAFED but to a private party; and whether the rice export contract was granted through a tender process or a nomination basis. “Over 7,500 metric tonnes of rice are still lying in Kakinada port,” Harish alleged.In response, Uttam said, “The Telangana rice mission has achieved a landmark success by exporting 22,750 metric tonnes of rice to the Philippines under a govt-to-govt (G2G) arrangement, which is beyond the scope of suspicion. The export fetched Rs 3,600 per quintal, the highest price ever recorded for this variety in any Indian export deal. This surpasses all the domestic benchmarks.”He added that there is no connection between Prem Chand and the rice export deal. The contract was awarded to Aditya Birla Global Trading Company as per the MoU with the Philippines govt. The govt earned a net profit of Rs 1.13 crore and saved an additional Rs 12 crore in carrying cost, the minister said.He further noted that FCI auctions in Andhra Pradesh under the open market sales scheme (OMSS) for 25-26 failed to attract any buyers even at Rs 3,000 per quintal, while paddy in Chhattisgarh averaged only Rs 1,800 to Rs 1,900 per quintal during 2024-25. Without this timely international deal, Telangana would have faced a potential loss of Rs 13 crore on the consignment, the minister said.The civil supplies department currently holds 86 lakh metric tonnes of rice in storage. Telangana is now directly engaging with international buyers at the govt-to-govt level, positioning the state and its rice alongside established global brands from Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.“There is excess production in the country, resulting in a shortage of storage. The Govt of India has committed to procuring only 54 lakh metric tonnes through the FCI this year, while the state govt procured 72 lakh metric tonnes for the kharif season, the highest ever,” he said. Harish, however, said the minister had evaded clarifying whether Prem Chand was appointed as an advisor. “There is no answer from minister Uttam whether the Rs 1,100 crore bonus on fine paddy is pending and when it will be paid to farmers. We demanded that a House committee be constituted or that the files be placed with the assembly speaker, but no clarity was given. We are registering our protest,” Harish said.
