By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, September 26, 2016 : The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on the General and Social sector for the year ended 2014-15 revealed misappropriation of paddy by the millers.

As many as 60 millers did not deliver 61,562 MT of CMR valuing Rs 126.61 crore. “During the same period, 20 millers in three test checked districts received 34,167 MT of paddy and were required to deliver 23,229 MT CMR. However, they delivered only 15,100 MT CMR. Physical verification by district authorities revealed that 11,243 MT paddy valuing Rs 40.78 crore was not available with these millers”, the report tabled in the State Assembly on Monday says.

As per the Operational Guidelines, the District Manager of Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited (OSCSC) or its Authorised Officer shall conduct physical verification of the paddy stocks on weekly basis. The paddy stock kept in joint custody shall be issued to the miller in a phased manner, based on his milling capacity and delivery of equivalent quantity of Custom Milled Rice (CMR).

“During joint physical inspection of 21 premises of the millers in eight sampled districts, it was noticed that paddy was not stacked in scientific manner, due to which the actual quantity of paddy available with the millers could not be ascertained. This indicated that the authorised officers were not conducting regular inspections to ensure availability of actual quantity of paddy with the millers”, the report said.

In all 211 millers were selected during 2010-15 Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) without verifying required documents like certificates from State Pollution Control Board, Encumbrance Certificate, DIC registration certificate. Against eligible limit of 5.75 lakh MT of paddy, 170 millers were permitted to take delivery of 9.48 lakh MT of paddy, resulting in excess delivery of 3.73 lakh MT, it said.

Observing that a robust system for paddy procurement was absent in Odisha, the CAG today said Paddy Procurement Centres (PPC) were not functioning properly due to delay in their opening and in the absence of godown facilities.

Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation (OSCSC) procured paddy valued at Rs 25,509 crore during 2010-15, but subsidy of Rs 581.68 crore for the period was not released by the Centre due to delay in finalisation of accounts, said the CAG report.

It said PPCs were not functioning properly as delay/ non-opening of such centres, absence of godown facilities, non-calibration of weighing machines and non-intimation of actual dates of procurement to farmers were noticed.

“Against marketable surplus of 8,512.44 quintals, 17,981.51 quintals–9,469.07 quintal excess–paddy was procured from 25 farmers and 1,914.19 quintal procured from 19 farmers who had no agricultural land”, it said.

Similarly, paddy was also procured without verifying farmers’ identity, without issuing vendors receipts, while payments to farmers were either delayed or not paid, it said.

In seven test checked districts, minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 22.61 crore was paid to 2,635 farmers for procurement of 18,001.96 MT of paddy with a delay ranging from 2 to 188 days, the CAG said.

“Thus, a robust system to manage the procurement operation of paddy under MSP scheme was not established and the same was not commensurate to the magnitude of the procurement involved (Rs 25,509 crore) for 1010-15,” it said.

Instead of conducting required quality analysis, arbitrary deduction of 2 to 4 kg was made from the quantity offered for sale by farmers. As a result, an estimated 2.51 MT paddy worth Rs 305.17 crore might have been unduly passed on to the millers during 2010-15, the CAG report said.

Cover and Plinth (CAP) covers valuing Rs 1.24 crore purchased in December 2014 for creating CAP facilities to store procured paddy during the intervening period of delivery to millers was not utilised, the report said.

In 26 cases of four test checked districts, societies were tagged to distant mills by 12 to 185 kms despite existence of nearby societies leading to excess payment of Rs 61.14 lakh towards transportation charges, CAG report said.