FCI eats up subsidies, is always hungry for more

• Foodgrains worth Rs 805.41 crore were lost in transit (while being transported) between 1997-98 and 2000-2001

• Between 1982-83 and 1999-2000, Rs 2,232.87 crore worth of shortages were found in FCI stocks. They were later ‘regularised.’

• During 1997-98 and 2000-01, sub-standard rice worth Rs 331.51 crore was accepted by the FCI.

To have a closer look at the mess that is FCI is now tough, as the corporation hasn’t finalised its accounts for the last three years. In the accounts that the FCI has submitted to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), there is no account of whether the minimum price was actually paid to the farmers. The Corporation has not maintained any account of it.

The food subsidy bill has ballooned from Rs 6,600 crore in 1996-97 to Rs 28,000 crore during the current year — 325 per cent increase in seven years. But there are no accounts to check whether they actually went towards feeding the poor or were just drained out through the ‘‘transit shortages’’ or ‘‘regularisation’’ of shortages.

When contacted, Minister for Food and Consumer Affairs Sharad Yadav said he had not been aware of the issue and as soon as it was brought to his notice, he sought an explanation from the FCI.

Explains Sanjay Kaul, joint secretary in the ministry of food: ‘‘There were several problems arising out of private auditors looking after FCI’s accounts which were in arrears for at least two to three years at any given point. In 2000, the FCI Act was then amended and auditing function was handed over to the CAG. The accounts for 1999-00 have now been tabled before Parliament. The FCI’s internal auditing is now complete for 2000-01 and 2001-02. These reports will now be submitted to the CAG which will then do its scrutiny.’’

After feeding the poor, the next big aim of the food subsidy is to ensure that farmers get a minimum price. But look at the results. The CAG has found that during inspections of 172 mandis in Punjab between September 1999 and October 2001, the FCI employees left the column for ‘whether prompt payments made to farmers’ — blank.

And despite the CVC manual stating that such cases should be referred to the CBI, not a single case has been referred to the investigating agency. And this in a state where 46 per cent of the country’s grain is procured to meet the requirements of the Public Distribution System. But the state also has the dubious distinction of accounting for 41 per cent of the vigilance cases. There are more skeletons in the FCI cupboard. The FCI ‘regularised’ shortages worth Rs 2,232.87 crore between 1982-83 to 1999-2000 without proper recovery proceedings against erring employees.

Despite a ban by the FCI itself in May 1986 against appointment of casual labour, the corporation spent Rs 48.18 crore on employing such labour between 1986-87 and 1999-2000.

The list of irregularities is never-ending, and 4,997 vigilance cases are pending in the FCI alone since 1997. The CAG’s report points out that only 11 per cent of the total vigilance cases are settled within the stipulated time period of one year. A permanent vigilance division was established at the FCI headquarters in 1999.

Between 1999 to 2001, 237 vigilance inspections were carried out, but there are no details or records reflecting results of these inspections. Even today, at FCI, the official handling commercial transactions where most of the frauds occur, also officiates as the vigilance official, detecting his own department’s frauds! Also, out of the 667 employees of ‘doubtful integrity’ found in 2001, 299 were deployed on sensitive duties.

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