Roiled over large quantity of subsidised rice meant for Anna Bhagya scheme going bad, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday is understood to have directed Food and Civil Supplies Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao to take strict action against officials responsible for the lapse.

At an emergency meeting, with the minister and senior department officials at his official residence Cauvery, Siddaramaiah is learnt to have pulled up officials for turning a blind eye to rice getting infested with pests and worms.

Worm-infested rice? 

“Can you (officials) eat worm-infested rice? How can you sit idle and do nothing when rice meant for poor goes bad? Take immediate action. Clean the rice, else strict action will follow,” he was quoted as chiding the officials.

Delay to dispose of 68,000 tonnes of substandard rice procured under the levy system during 2013-14, has resulted in it going bad. Large quantity of stock has been infested with pests in the absence of proper preservation mechanism in godowns.Moreover, the rice stock was found to have 33 per cent to 40 per cent of broken rice against the permissible limit of 25 per cent. 

If a stock has broken rice beyond permissible limit, it cannot be supplied to the beneficiaries under the Public Distribution System.

Anna Bhagya (rice for Re 1 per kg) is a flagship scheme of Siddaramaiah government.

Dinesh Gundu Rao has been directed to go through the third party inspection report of the Hyderabad-based commodity and risk management services company - National Collateral Management Services Limited - and take appropriate action on the disposal of the stock.

Action should be taken against millers who supplied substandard rice, the chief minister said, while calling for an action-taken report.