BAJWA RAKES UP GRAIN-STOCK MISMATCH IN RS, SEEKS CBI PROBE
Wednesday, 11/05/2016
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CHANDIGARH/NEW DELHI: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has pointed out that the gap between Punjab government’s Cash Credit Limit (CCL) and the food grain stocks widened from `14,339 crore in 2012-13 to `21,563 crore in 2014-15, according to Rajya Sabha member Partap Singh Bajwa, who on Tuesday demanded a CBI probe into the “food grain scam”.
“Another part of this scam is diversion of cash credit limit,” Bajwa, former Punjab Congress president, said in a release after having raised the issue during the Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
Bajwa said the top audit agency found that the reason for this gap between the CCL and the stocks in this food basket of the country was because of “massive misappropriation of food grains and diversion of funds”.
He said rampant corruption and pilferage had been pointed out even by the CAG in various reports. One of the reports, he said, referred to 45 cases involving misappropriation of rice stocks worth `104 crore. But no FIR was registered by the Punjab government, he added.
During the Zero Hour In the Upper House, he alleged that there was a “nexus” between the state government and “food mafia”, leading to heated exchange of words between the treasury and opposition benches.
As the two sides argued, deputy chairman PJ Kurien asked Bajwa not to level allegations against anyone.
GRAINS TRANSPORTED IN TANKERS
Bajwa said that CAG report (No. 31 of 2015) had pointed out that out of the 3,319 vehicles shown as used for transportation of grains, 3,232 registration numbers did not match with the data of the transport authority. It was found that vehicles mentioned were buses, cars, bikes and tankers. “This shows how fake transportation bills were submitted and redeemed,” he said.
