E-Paper
Paddy procurement scam: 5 officials of Karnal food dept sacked from service
Karnal district food supplies controller (DFSC) Mukesh Kumar said that inspectors Sameer Vashisth, Lokesh, Sandeep Sharma and Yashbir Singh, as well as sub-inspector Ramphal have been dismissed from service
Haryana government on Friday dismissed four inspectors and a sub-inspector of the food, civil supplies, and consumer affairs department in Karnal, for their alleged involvement in the paddy procurement scam during the last kharif season.
Karnal district food supplies controller (DFSC) Mukesh Kumar said that inspectors Sameer Vashisth, Lokesh, Sandeep Sharma and Yashbir Singh, as well as sub-inspector Ramphal have been dismissed from service. Five separate orders have been issued by director general (DG) Anshaj Singh, a copy of which HT has.
In the said orders, the department cited the irregularities detected in the physical verification and probe during the procurement, as the reason for their dismissal under Haryana Civil Services (Punishment and Appeal) Rules, 2016.
All were already named in different FIRs. In total, the Karnal police registered six FIRs in connection with the ghost procurement. The police have recently filed chargesheets against 12 accused in two FIRs related to the Taraori and Indri grain markets.
Similar irregularities were also unearthed in neighbouring Yamunanagar and Kurukshetra districts. In total, 10 cases were registered and over 30 officials or millers were arrested.
The scam involved issuing fake gate passes by mandi board employees showing entry of excess paddy and enabling proxy procurement. Records revealed receipt of paddy that never arrived at the grain market, which led to revenue loss to the government as the paddy MSP of ₹2,389 per quintal was paid.
Probe revealed that the arhtiyas-millers created fake land registrations, even for land not meant for farming, on the Meri Fasal, Mera Byora (MFMB) portal. This enabled the issuance of gate passes in their names.
Furthermore, procurement agencies showed fake purchases, which were later shown as inward at mills. To bridge this shortfall between records and actual stock, millers sourced paddy or rice from other states at cheaper prices, while the government paid the MSP resulting in major revenue loss.
