REWA/BHOPAL: Paddy worth Rs 12.40 crore, procured from farmers in the Vindhyan region of Madhya Pradesh for supply to families below poverty line (BPL) under the public distribution system, has either rotted or vanished mysteriously.
According to the Madhya Pradesh State Civil Supplies Corporation (MPSCSC), as many as 17,500 quintals of paddy disappeared from the storage space allotted for the purpose by agricultural mandis in Chakghat and Lauri Garh in Rewa district. After evaluating the loss, the agency sought Rs 4.40 crore in compensation from the mandis concerned.
“Once the matter of the missing paddy came to light, we demanded Rs 4.40 crore as compensation. A five-member committee comprising representatives of the Rewa district administration, MPSCSC and FCI has been constituted to probe the episode,” said MPSCSC Rewa district manager SK Srivastava.
6,320 tonnes of paddy worth Rs 8 crore – procured by the MPSCSC from farmers in Rewa, Sidhi, Satna, Singrauli, Umaria and Shahdol districts over the 2013-14 period – has completely rotted due to improper storage under the open sky.
“There was surplus purchase of paddy from farmers in 201314. However, owing to shortage of space in warehouses, various agencies tasked with storing the paddy kept a significant portion in the open. This caused the food grains to decay. We’ve already started the process of recovering the loss from the agencies concerned,” MPSCSC regional manager (Satna) PK Somani told HT on Saturday.
{{/usCountry}}“There was surplus purchase of paddy from farmers in 201314. However, owing to shortage of space in warehouses, various agencies tasked with storing the paddy kept a significant portion in the open. This caused the food grains to decay. We’ve already started the process of recovering the loss from the agencies concerned,” MPSCSC regional manager (Satna) PK Somani told HT on Saturday.
{{/usCountry}}(With inputs from Harendra Singh Parihar in Rewa)