Rice quota for six months disappears

DC informs anti-corruption cell, asks CAF & PD director to trace missing rice

By Paojel Chaoba

IMPHAL | Aug 10

In a clear cut case of rampant corruption perpetrated by some officers of the consumer affairs, food and public distribution department, rice quota of Lillong Assembly constituency for six months has gone missing.

Signatures of fair price shop agents have been forged. The anti-corruption cell has also been intimated in this regard by the deputy commissioner of Thoubal, L. Nabakishwar Singh today.

A five-member district level inquiry committee was set up headed by the additional deputy commissioner of Thoubal regarding a complaint received that the rice quota for the constituency has not been distributed for some time.

The investigating team found hidden facts about the rice based on the statements of district supply officer, civil supply officer, fair price shop agents of Lillong constituency and from inspection of the monthly issue register.

It was observed that signatures of fair price shop agents have been forged for some months in the register. The forgery was to avail the monthly honorarium. Further, for the months of April 2016 to September 2016, it was found that the fair price shops had distributed allocations for the first 4 months to the AAY households and to every voter at Rs 3 per kilogram.

For the remaining two months, the rice provided under National Food Security Act was given to two persons namely Babu and Haji Riyaj. The duo later distributed the rice free of cost to voters and not to the entitled beneficiaries.

Further, it was found that rice for six months beginning October 2016 to March 2017 were not distributed at all and the quota has gone missing.

Further, the deputy commissioner of Thoubal requested the anti-corruption cell to move the CAF and PD department to request the director of the department to trace the missing rice for six months and to also initiate a departmental inquiry against district supply officer of Thoubal, namely P. Virdhwaja and civil supply inspector K. Dhananjoy Singh.

It was also prayed for issuing strict instructions to all district supply officers that the NAFSA rice should be given to the identified beneficiaries and not to electors.

The district administration too has taken up corrective measures to ensure fair distribution in future by assigning a specific jurisdiction to the civil supply inspectors, instead of the system of assigning work to a single person.