A letter no 2671 dated 25/09/2019 written by the Civil Supplies Officer, Keonjhar to the Secretary, Civil Supplies Department, regarding irregularities in PDS rice distribution has pointed fingers towards the suspicious action of the enforcement squad.
According to the letter, the enforcement squad was given the task to inquire into the irregularities in PDS rice distribution in Tangiriapal and Rasol Panchayat under Harichandanpur block. However, Supply Inspector Yashoda Singh and ACSO Paresh Mohanty in charge of enforcement squad instead of conducting an impartial inquiry tried to tamper with the evidences and also knowingly suppressed the incident.
As per procedure during inquiry by the enforcement squad on August 24, they did not seize the accounts and stock register of the panchayats. After the squad found that the rice bags on stock were directly transported from Syamsunder Rice mill, the stock of mill was not immediately verified to ascertain truth. The stocks of the respective panchayats were not weighed immediately to find any shortage allowing the culprits to manipulate and adjust the stocks later.
Interestingly, the stock was formally seized and left in the custody of the same panchayat executive officer Durgaprasad Murmu. Even the godown was not sealed either. The CSO was intimated about the findings a week later.
According to the procedure, the rice procured from any mill first reaches the Mandua rice collection godown which is sent to different panchayats later on after verification and other formalities. But it was found that on August 23, 1,010 rice bags weighing 505 quintals with Syamsunder Mill tag was directly transported from the mill to Rasol GP and similarly 414 quintals of rice was directly transported to Tangiriapal GP without verification and receipt of stock at Mandua godown.
The Additional Secretary of Public Distribution and Supplies wrote to the Collector Keonjhar on January 13 to take action on the PDS rice irregularities in these GPs and also raised doubt on the activity of the enforcement officials. But it is alleged that instead of prosecuting the real culprits, Junior Assistant Dusmanta Nayak and peon Chintamani Pati were transferred from the district as a part of disciplinary action against them. And, ASCO Paresh Mohanty has been promoted to the CSO Keonjhar to cover up such irregularities.
The PDS commodity transport scam and other irregularities in during the Covid-19 have reached sky high and if proved at higher level, the massive scams may come to the fore, locals claimed.
