PANAJI
There is more than what meets the eye in the sensational food grain smuggling racket. In this small State where scams are unearthed only to be quickly forgotten or brushed under the carpet, a well-planned conspiracy to siphon off food grains from warehouses of the Civil Supplies department has left the government red-faced.
The Civil Supplies officials, agents and open market dealers have come under increased scrutiny considering the gravity of the offence that remained under wraps until a secret operation by the Crime Branch this week.
The scam of Rs 12.67 lakh (approx) is just the tip of the iceberg. The loss to the exchequer could be to the tune of crores, which The Goan attempted to find out through those privy to the modus operandi.
The alleged smuggling of 1,014 gunny bags of wheat and rice to Karnataka occurred in broad daylight and public view. The two politically connected kingpins named by the police -- Sachin Naik Borkar and Virendra Mardolkar are “ until now -- safe underground.
An embarrassed government has been quick to downplay the issue claiming all is well in its warehouses. Sources however reveal that huge stocks of food grain are being siphoned off from 2017 by racketeers taking serious advantage of loopholes in the system. It is not clear if the head office of the Department of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs was aware of the mafia operating right under its nose.
During this period, monthly rations were being exported across the border with culprits earning a minimum of Rs 7-8 lakh per truck. “If one kg rice is sold at Rs 12.50 and wheat at Rs 10 per kg to ration cardholders, which is the present rate, the dealers procure at double the rate and sell in the open market at a much-much higher price. This cannot happen without the nexus of officials from the Civil Supplies and probably some of the fair price shop operators,” the source said.
A record of the sold ration quota is an important factor to ensure the appropriate quantity of commodities reaches the shops in the coming months. It is a known fact that a considerable number of Above Poverty Line category card holders do not avail of the quota but it is also true that commodities are either sold more than the quota to each family or illegally traded to non-ration card holders. “Some FPS hide the information of their monthly sale and keep procuring additional quota to sell it off illegally,” the source asserted.
Sources said that the monthly quota from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) is stored in its godown at Sada, Vasco from where it is transported to department-owned godowns in each taluka. The leakage reportedly occurs while the quota is ready for distribution as some even get routed to private godowns.
There’s another instance wherein the FPS operators are taken for a ride. “In many cases, the ration shops are told (by the Civil Supplies) that they haven’t received their monthly quota from the FCI. This stock actually meant for distribution at the FPS, is instead sold to private players who export the food grain in the open markets in Goa’s neighbouring districts. The value of the same stock increases from Goa’s warehouses to Karnataka markets,” the source said.
There’s also a possibility that the ration is smuggled from the FPS located in areas where the demand is low. “It is a larger network than what has been exposed by the Crime Branch,” added the source.
“The fraud is expected to touch in crores and some present and former officials could be caught if investigated without any interference,” he said.
BJP in damage control mode
PANAJI:
The controversy surrounding the theft of government-stamped gunny bags of rice and wheat prompted Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to call for an emergency meeting with the top officials of the Civil Supplies and Crime Branch. Though a confident Chief Minister claims FPS owners are involved in the scam, sources claim that the BJP-led government is in a damage control mode.
“The matter should not reach the Prime Minister’s Office and the party’s image should not be compromised. This is what the Chief Minister wants. There could be some in the ruling dispensation involved in the scam, but in the wake of ensuing Lok Sabha elections, the party wants to play safe,” sources said.
Minister chews out son for meet with officials
PANAJI:
A sitting minister gave a dressing down to his son on being informed that he held a meeting with some inspectors and other officials of the Department of the Civil Supplies and Consumers Affairs last month.
Sources told The Goan that the minister has instructed the department to immediately inform him if there’s any attempt by his son to interfere in the functioning of the government.
