Over 100,000 govt employees availed foodgrains illegally under NFSA

Over 100,000 government employees in Maharashtra availed foodgrains under NFSA despite being ineligible. Govt to take action, no provision for recovery.

Mumbai: Over 100,000 government employees in Maharashtra have availed foodgrains through the public distribution system (PDS) under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) even though they are not eligible for the same, the state government admitted in the legislative assembly on Wednesday. Responding to demands for recovery and criminal action against the errant public servants, the government said that though there is no such provision in the law, concerned departments have been asked to take action against them.

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BJP MLA Sanjay Savkare had raised a question about public servants availing foodgrains under the NFSA during the question hour on Tuesday. He demanded strict action against the errant employees and said that many such fake beneficiaries sell off the foodgrains in open market to mint money. Former chief minister and Congress MLA Prithviraj Chavan also demanded strict action against the employees who deprived eligible beneficiaries.

On Wednesday, food and civil supplies minister Chhagan Bhujbal responded to the question, saying the department had found 100,262 class 3 and 4 government employees availing benefits meant for poor. “Families with annual income below ₹59,000 in cities and ₹44,000 in rural areas are eligible to get foodgrains from PDS shops. Government employees cannot avail the same as their salaries are above the eligibility limit. We identified such employees during a special drive and have delisted them.”

There is no provision in the NFSA to recover foodgrains from ineligible beneficiaries, he told the assembly. “But we have informed the departments they are attached and asked them to take appropriate action,” he said.