BHUBANESWAR: Even after three years of detection of a financial fraud involving Rs 16.39 lakh in paddy procurement in Jajpur district, the Cooperation department has failed to recover the amount and initiate criminal proceedings against those responsible for the bungling.
The New Indian Express had reported on December 16 how a family of four of Dilip Kumar Rout of Jajpur district with the help of officials of Markandapur Service Cooperative Society (SCS) defrauded the society by selling surplus paddy of 917 quintal in excess under the minimum support price scheme.
Acting on this paper’s news, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare (FS&CW) department had sought a report from Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCS) on action taken for recovery of the amount and officials responsible for defrauding the government.
A report submitted by deputy registrar of cooperative societies (CEDIT) on January 2 to FS&CW department is silent on the action taken to realise the money. Some local farmers brought the irregularities to the notice of Jajpur Collector on December 29, 2016. Subsequently, they moved to Orissa High Court which directed RCS to consider the representation of petitioners.
An inquiry into the forgery revealed that manipulation of data was made at the society level as Kabita Rout, one of the beneficiaries of the illegal transaction, is a management committee member of Markandapur SCS. The family was paid over Rs 16.39 lakh by society through direct benefit transfer.
The Rout family comprising his wife Kabita and two sons Bipak and Tapan sold 1,112 quintals of surplus paddy to SCS against their actual marketable surplus of 245.58 quintals as per their land details.
The irregularity of excess purchase of paddy was detected when the procurement data done through off-line mode did not match with the online paddy procurement automation system (P-PAS).
The RCS has directed for initiating criminal action against six persons, including former secretary Naba Kishore Parida and current assistant secretary Bikramji Jena for defrauding the Government.
