Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has said his government would establish a dedicated mechanism to check food adulteration.
He also termed the hoarding of daily essential items as a more heinous crime than murder.
The proposed mechanism to check food adulteration would be similar to the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) and the Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement (EAGLE) set up by the state government, he said on Monday, in an informal interaction with mediapersons here.
Reddy attended a lunch hosted by the state government for MLAs and MLCs here on the occasion of the first anniversary of the launch of the distribution of fine variety rice through PDS.
He said the government decided to provide a fine variety rice as it felt that the distribution of coarse variety rice through PDS only caused an expenditure burden, but did not really help the poor.
The state government encouraged farmers to cultivate fine variety rice by providing a bonus of Rs 500, he said.
The fine variety rice scheme is benefiting 3.39 crore people in the state (about 86 per cent of the population), and the distribution of fine rice led to a decline in black marketing of PDS rice (coarse variety).
Recalling that the Congress government led by Chief Minister Kotla Vijay Bhaskar Reddy in undivided Andhra Pradesh had introduced one kilo rice for one rupee in the 1980s, he said the scheme, however, did not reach people effectively.
However, the one kg rice for Rs 2 scheme introduced by TDP founder N T Rama Rao reached people extensively, he said.
Since then, coarse variety rice has been provided in PDS, but people have not been consuming it. This has led to dishonest people making coarse rice as fine rice in an organised fashion, he said.
After provision of fine variety of rice, the government now aims to provide quality education and nutritious food, Reddy said.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar said with public health as the highest priority, the decision of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to establish a dedicated system for food safety is truly commendable.
In line with this vision, the Hyderabad Commissionerate has already set up the ‘H-FAST’ (Hyderabad – Food Adulteration Surveillance Team) team, which is cracking down firmly on adulteration networks, he said.
In the past month, 61 cases have been registered, 15 tonnes of adulterated products seized, and 64 accused were arrested, the commissioner said.
Sajjanar, in a post on ‘X’, said: “Food adulteration is not just a crime. It is a silent, deadly attack on every household. From the biscuits and ice creams we lovingly give our children to everyday essentials like ginger-garlic paste, tea powder, milk, and curd, adulterators are poisoning the very food we trust. The scale and brazenness of these acts are deeply alarming.”
He further said there will be zero tolerance for those who gamble with innocent lives for profit.
