Haryana Government has referred the case of irregularities made in the purchase of fungicide Raxil during the tenure of the previous Congress Government to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) for inquiry The State has suffered a loss of about Rs80 crore in the purchase of Raxil.
Notably, Haryana’s whistleblower IAS officer Ashok Khemka had exposed the alleged scam in the purchase of fungicide Raxil in the State. He had also registered a complaint with the CBI in 2013 but the then Congress Government had rejected it saying “he was not competent to do so”.
Agriculture Minister, OP Dhankar, while talking to the mediapersons on Tuesday said that after obtaining approval from the Chief Minister Manohar lal, the case has been referred to CVC for an inquiry.
He said that for the first time Karnal Bunt disease had been detected in the wheat crop in Karnal and the seeds were being treated. The previous government started purchasing Raxil in 2010-11 for treatment of this disease and the purchase continued until the formation of the new Government. “During this period, Raxil worth about Rs100 crore was purchased,” he added.
Dhankar said that the previous Government had also sent its recommendations for Bayer Company’s Raxil fungicide and though not registered with the Pesticide Management Board, recommendation had been made for the use of this medicine.
Patent Raxil is available for Rs1,350 per kg whereas generic medicine costs Rs300 per kg. Soon after coming to power, the BJP Government had recommended use of the generic medicine because it is cheaper than Raxil, said the Minister.
When asked about the investigation report on this matter and the people involved, Dhankar said “The CVC would fix responsibility and decide when to make the report public. It is for the CVC to decide if the matter is to be transferred to the CBI.”
On alleged irregularities in the purchase of medicine for the yellow rust disease found in wheat, Dhankar said if any irregularity was found, investigation would be done and action would be taken by ensuring complete transparency. On the issue of girdwari (crop damage assessment) process, the Minister said that work is beign down for aerial photograph and mapping of total land record etc, so that information on girdawari etc can be made available at the click of mouse.
Dhankar added that the work on real type mapping was being done on all canals in the State at a cost of Rs119 crore.