Procurement Scam: 27.5k quintal wheat goes missing in MP
BHOPAL: Wheat procured at 44 procurement centres of Datia district during year 2012-13 worth Rs 3.81 crore has mysteriously gone missing! Payments for wheat have already been made from the account of the co-operative societies but the wheat purchased from farmers was not deposited at the warehouses of Madhya Pradesh State Civil Supplies Corporation.
This could just be the tip of iceberg in the wheat procurement scam in Madhya Pradesh. Interestingly, ten months after a probe began into the case, no action has been taken so far.
Copies of an interim probe report which is in possession of TOI, pointed out that about “27,509 quintals of wheat worth Rs 3.81 crore which has been shown as purchased was not deposited to the corporation’s warehouses”.
Pegging the total value of the scam at Rs 6.81 crore the report stated, ‘Apart from procurement price, miscellaneous expenditure of Rs 2 crore was incurred and Rs 1 crore was paid to farmers as price of gunny bags against the 27,509 quintals wheat, now missing. Thus, Rs 6.81 crore scam was perpetuated with the connivance of cooperative societies, officials of civil supplies corporation and bank’.
The report further says, ‘Farmers didn’t complain of non-payment making it evident that fake purchases were shown at the centres’.
A two-member probe committee was constituted by district registrar of co-operatives and societies following a complaint by Narendra Thakur, local Congress leader and a resident of Bhander tehsil in Datia.
“It is clear that wheat worth Rs 3.81 crore is missing. We have submitted our report in May this year,” senior inspector co-operatives, in Datia, J S Jatav told TOI. Jatav was one of the two members of the probe committee.
Datia district registrar of societies, D K Chowrasia said, “An inquiry committee was constituted based on the findings of the interim committee. So far we have received reports from 30 centers. In majority of the reports committees have informed that the wheat was lost during transportation,” Chourasia said.
“Prima-facie there appears some wrongdoing but there are some technical problems in it as well. As per norms if there is any such case of transportation loss, a complaint with arbitration tribunal of state civil supplies corporation should be made, but instead, these societies had complained with my court,” Chourasia told TOI.
“Till these complaints are rejected by my court, tribunal will not entertain it. As I am on probation, I am technically not eligible for hearing these complaints, so the cases were sent to registrar Gwalior,” Chouaraisa said.
“If rejected from there, it will go to tribunal that will decide the further course of action,” he said. He also alleged that non-cooperation from the officials of the corporation has also led to the delays.
Managing director of the state civil supplies corporation, Chandrahas Dubey told TOI, “I am not aware of the issue but, the corporation has made payments only against wheat which was deposited at its warehouses.”
Explaining the modus operandi, complainant in the case, Narendra Yadav said, “It is right that the corporation has not made payments against the missing wheat. Purchases were shown and amounts were withdrawn from the bank on the basis of purchase receipts. The co-operative societies also got commission for the purchase. However, when the bank didn’t receive payment of the missing wheat it adjusted the commission of the societies”.
He alleged that, “The entire scam took place with the connivance of bank and society employees. These individuals’ reaped benefits and societies plunged into losses”.
Yadav has also complained about the scam to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) which has been soft-peddling the issue, he claimed.
However, SP EOW, Gwalior, Anshman Agarwal said, “Case has not been registered yet but inquiry is underway. It is because of the delay in getting records from the societies that the inquiry is taking time”.
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