BILAL HUSSAIN
The Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Department (CAPD), agency meant for ensuring availability of food grains to the state subjects, has been indicted of misappropriation of food grains stocks by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India in its latest audit report said that non-adherence to prescribed system of monitoring and control of the stocks lying in CAPD, store Udhampur, resulted into misappropriation of food grains stocks.
Assistant Director, CAPD, Udhampur in the course of inspection in August 2010 of Food Store, CAPD at Udhampur noticed huge shortages in the food grains stocks. A physical verification ordered in August/November 2010 by the Director CAPD, Jammu revealed shortages in the stock of wheat, atta, rice and sugar to the tune of Rs 64.57 lakh (total shortage: Rs 74.82 lakh less unaccounted permits issue slips: Rs 10.25 lakh) and the store keeper (In-charge), Babu Ram, a class IV employee posted at the Food Store since February 1st,2010 was placed under suspension, the report said.
Subsequent to suspension, the defaulting storekeeper had deposited Rs 16.24 lakh in treasuries at Udhampur and Jammu. Thus, net shortage of food grains worth Rs 48.33 lakh was assessed as recoverable from the defaulting storekeeper, which had remained un-recovered as of August 2011. The case had been referred in August 2010 to Crime Branch Jammu without conducting a departmental enquiry.
The delinquent official, despite being a Class IV employee and entrusted with job of store keeper had been a chronic defaulter, the CAG report reveals. The official had been placed under suspension in September 1993 in Udhampur and reinstated in August 2000 treating the whole period as ‘on duty’.
“We noticed that the Department had not taken any disciplinary action against the official and instead the official had been posted as Storekeeper of the Udhampur store, the biggest in the region, in February 2010. The official after assuming in February 2010 the charge had misappropriated food grains by the end of July 2010.
As per the Departmental Manual, physical verification of food grain stocks, lying in various stores/sale depots, should be conducted by the designated teams of the department during first quarter of succeeding financial year in collaboration with the Tehsil Supply Officer (TSO), Storekeeper and Salesman in position.
The responsibility for arranging the physical verification (PV) lies with the Director who should immediately after the close of financial year constitute a team and fix dates for conducting the verification and submission of Report thereof. The PV report is to be submitted to the Assistant Director of the District concerned and a copy thereof is sent to Director CAPD.
However, the CAG noticed that despite teams for Physical verification of various stores including the Udhampur store having been constituted in June 2010 by the Director CAPD, physical verification of the stocks lying in Udhampur store had not been conducted.
After placing in August 2010 the delinquent storekeeper under suspension, no disciplinary action as warranted under rules had been initiated by the Department, the report mentions. The Director, CAPD department Jammu did not offer in March/August 2011 any reasons for lapses on the part of the department.
The matter was referred to government in September 2011; reply was awaited up till October 2011. “The department must put in place a strong internal control and monitoring mechanism to ensure that pilferages and misappropriations are detected/tapped in a timely manner,” the audit report suggests.
The Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Department (CAPD), agency meant for ensuring availability of food grains to the state subjects, has been indicted of misappropriation of food grains stocks by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India in its latest audit report said that non-adherence to prescribed system of monitoring and control of the stocks lying in CAPD, store Udhampur, resulted into misappropriation of food grains stocks.
Assistant Director, CAPD, Udhampur in the course of inspection in August 2010 of Food Store, CAPD at Udhampur noticed huge shortages in the food grains stocks. A physical verification ordered in August/November 2010 by the Director CAPD, Jammu revealed shortages in the stock of wheat, atta, rice and sugar to the tune of Rs 64.57 lakh (total shortage: Rs 74.82 lakh less unaccounted permits issue slips: Rs 10.25 lakh) and the store keeper (In-charge), Babu Ram, a class IV employee posted at the Food Store since February 1st,2010 was placed under suspension, the report said.
Subsequent to suspension, the defaulting storekeeper had deposited Rs 16.24 lakh in treasuries at Udhampur and Jammu. Thus, net shortage of food grains worth Rs 48.33 lakh was assessed as recoverable from the defaulting storekeeper, which had remained un-recovered as of August 2011. The case had been referred in August 2010 to Crime Branch Jammu without conducting a departmental enquiry.
The delinquent official, despite being a Class IV employee and entrusted with job of store keeper had been a chronic defaulter, the CAG report reveals. The official had been placed under suspension in September 1993 in Udhampur and reinstated in August 2000 treating the whole period as ‘on duty’.
“We noticed that the Department had not taken any disciplinary action against the official and instead the official had been posted as Storekeeper of the Udhampur store, the biggest in the region, in February 2010. The official after assuming in February 2010 the charge had misappropriated food grains by the end of July 2010.
As per the Departmental Manual, physical verification of food grain stocks, lying in various stores/sale depots, should be conducted by the designated teams of the department during first quarter of succeeding financial year in collaboration with the Tehsil Supply Officer (TSO), Storekeeper and Salesman in position.
The responsibility for arranging the physical verification (PV) lies with the Director who should immediately after the close of financial year constitute a team and fix dates for conducting the verification and submission of Report thereof. The PV report is to be submitted to the Assistant Director of the District concerned and a copy thereof is sent to Director CAPD.
However, the CAG noticed that despite teams for Physical verification of various stores including the Udhampur store having been constituted in June 2010 by the Director CAPD, physical verification of the stocks lying in Udhampur store had not been conducted.
After placing in August 2010 the delinquent storekeeper under suspension, no disciplinary action as warranted under rules had been initiated by the Department, the report mentions. The Director, CAPD department Jammu did not offer in March/August 2011 any reasons for lapses on the part of the department.
The matter was referred to government in September 2011; reply was awaited up till October 2011. “The department must put in place a strong internal control and monitoring mechanism to ensure that pilferages and misappropriations are detected/tapped in a timely manner,” the audit report suggests.
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