Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Minister Punnulal Mohale on Saturday said that the negligence in purchase and procurement of paddy for the Public Distribution System (PDS) will not be tolerated.
Mohale added that there was discrepancy in the purchase of 5.30 lakh metric tonne paddy and procurement at villages Alesur and Devrisuma was less by 18 thousand 317 metric tonne. The district administration in its investigation found the fraud, and strict action had been taken against the erring officials in the Kharif Procurement season 2014-15.
The Minister said that the probe had not been done on any complaint but by the State Government and district administration on its own. There was shortage of 8,870 tonne paddy at Alesur Procurement Centre and 9,447 tonne paddy at Devrisuma Procurement centre in the year 2014-15.
The paddy had been released without any proper delivery order to the rice millers. Sarna variety paddy had been released on the coarse paddy Delivery Order, embezzlement in the weights and measures of paddy to the rice millers and unusual discrepancy in the quantity of paddy. There was no case against the transporters.
Mohale stated that the erring officials, Devrisuma Procurement Centre In-charge Mahendra Bret and Alesur Procurement Centre In-charge Ramanuj Singh Thakur had been suspended by the MarkFed in July 2015. Investigation is going on against the two officials. F.I.R. had been registered at the Batapara Police Station in November 2015.