(a) whether stocks of sub-standard quality of wheat and rice have been stored in the godowns of Food Corporation of India (FCI) in various parts of the country, particularly in Punjab;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether raids and searches have been carried out by the Central Bureau of Investigation at various godowns of FCI in this regard;
(d) if so, the details and the outcome thereof; and
(e) the follow-up action taken against the officials held responsible?
MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND MINISTER OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI SHARAD PAWAR)
(a), (b), (c), (d), & (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF THE STARRED QUESTION NO. 30 DUE FOR ANSWER ON 20.02.2006 IN THE LOK SABHA.
(a) & (b): As per the information received from FCI, a total quantity of wheat 8034 MTs and rice 136887 MTs of substandard quality comprising damaged and upgradable is stored in the godowns of FCI in various parts of the country including Punjab, the details of which are at Annexure.
(c) & (d): Yes, Sir. Joint surprise checks had been conducted by CBI along with FCI in September,2005 at 12 FCI Centres in Punjab Region in FCI district Bhatinda, Ferozepur, Faridkot and Sangrur. During the joint surprise checks, 451 samples of Rice Grade A pertaining to crop year 2004-05 were drawn and got analysed at Central Grain Analysis Laboratory, Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi. Only 13 of these samples were found to be within prescribed specifications while the remaining 438 samples were found exceeding the limit of uniform specifications, of which 91 samples were beyond Prevention of Food Adulteration Act(PFA) Limits i.e. unfit for human consumption.
(e): Three cases i.e. RCCHG 2006 A 0001, RCCHG 2006 A 0002 and RCCHG 2006 A 0003 all dated 7.1.2006 have been registered by CBI, Chandigarh against 83 FCI officials/officers including one IAS officer and 330 Private Rice Millers. Searches were also conducted on 9.1.2006 at the premises of nine FCI officers/officials.
ANNEXURE
ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) & (b) OF STARRED QUESTION NO. 30 DUE FOR ANSWER ON 20.02.2006 IN THE LOK SABHA.
SUB-STANDARD WHEAT & RICE STORED IN FCI GODOWN AS ON 1.1.2006.#The position for Punjab is as on 01.02.2006.
(Figures in MTs) S.No. State Wheat Rice
Damaged Upgradable Total Damaged Upgradable Total
1. Bihar 57 0 57 182 5463 5645 2. Jharkhand 0 0 0 10 0 10 3. Orissa 0 0 0 1147 0 1147 4. West Bengal 209 0 209 368 1625 1993 5. Assam/Arunachal Pradesh 28 0 28 1392 1805 3197 6. NEF (Meghalaya/ 10 0 10 294 1554 1848 Mizoram/Tripura 7 Nagaland & 6 0 6 210 0 210 Manipur 8. Jammu & Kashmir 0 0 0 1 202 203 9. Punjab 666 123 789 39464 70024 109488# 10. Rajasthan 122 0 122 3 0 3 11. Uttar Pradesh 35 0 35 15 0 15 12. Uttranchal 207 0 207 0 0 0 13. Andhra Pradesh 3 0 3 546 0 546 14. Kerala 9 0 9 744 0 744 15. Karnataka 9 0 9 229 0 229 16. Tamil Nadu 0 0 0 104 0 104 17. Gujarat 526 0 526 60 0 60 18. Maharashtra 5818 13 5831 2713 4127 6840 19. Madhya Pradesh 175 0 175 4164 0 4164 20. Chhatisgarh 18 0 18 20 421 441
Total 7898 136 8034 51666 85221 136887