The Directorate General of Food (DGF) has cancelled the licences of 16 rice mills in Chattogram as they did not supply rice to the government's Boro procurement programme.

The DGF has sent show-cause notices to five rice millers and forfeited their security deposits for failing to supply rice as per contracts under the programme, said the order issued by Chattogram District Food Controller Md Abdul Quader on the instructions of the DGF on 24 October.

The DGF alleged that the target of rice and paddy collection in Chattogram was not achieved mainly because the rice mills did not cooperate with the government's Boro procurement programme.

Chattogram District Food Controller Md Abdul Quader said the licences of 16 rice mills were cancelled because they had the capacity to supply paddy and rice for the procurement programme but did not sign a contract with the government in this regard.

The deposit of one mill was forfeited as it signed a contract with the government but did not supply any rice. The deposits of four other rice mills – which supplied less than 80% of the amount stipulated in the contract – were forfeited in proportion with the amount they failed to supply.

By 31 August this year, the government target was to procure 82,556 tonnes of Boro paddy from Chattogram, but it could collect only 27,102 tonnes. Against the target of procuring 1.14 lakh tonnes of boiled rice, it could collect only 71,817 tonnes. Furthermore, only 15,557 tonnes of sun-dried rice could be collected from the district against a target of 22,708 tonnes.

The rice mills whose licences were cancelled include Rahmania Modern Rice Mill, Shahjalal Auto Rice Mill, Al Amin Auto Rice Mill, Al Mamun Auto Rice Mill, Hafeez Ahmad Auto Rice Mill, Haji Alam Rice Mill, Madina Major Rice Mill, Madina Automatic Dryer Rice Mill, Al Madina Auto Rice Mill, Darbar Auto Rice Mill, Taibiya Auto Rice Mill, Pathan Bhandar Auto Rice Mill, Zaheed Auto Rice Mill, N Haque Auto Rice Mill, and Shah Amir Auto Rice Mill.

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