Dept lacks technical expertise for quality check
Excelsior Correspondent
Baramulla, Mar 13: Alleged sub-standard rice is being distributed by the Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA) in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district while the administration remains unmoved.
The insiders told Excelsior that a joint physical verification of the grains at the Food Corporation of India (FCI) go-down was carried out in November last year which included the officials from the district administration, FCI and the Food and Supplies Department, however, no quality check was carried out before the distribution.
It has been learned that around 25000 quintals of rice is stored in the go-down which is now being entirely re-polished and repackaged for further distribution allegedly without any quality check.
It has also been learned that around 6000 quintals of rice has been taken from the Sangrama go-down by the Food Department for further distribution in the various parts of the district.
While FCI states that the grains stored in the go-down are up to the standards, the Food Department, on the other side, gravely lacks the machinery and the other technical staff for ensuring the quality of the rice taken up for the distribution.
“After the physical verification of the go-down, the department should have carried a proper quality check, which it did not and started the supply of grains,” an insider said.
Earlier, due to the inefficiency and inability of the Food Department, a huge quantity of grains at its Haigam granary as well as the Lethpora granary where the grains are stored since 2014 have been destroyed. Also, at the Sangrama go-down, the Food Department is already under the CBI scanner regarding a scam involving around 140 trucks of grains.
An official on the condition of anonymity said that FC&SCA lacks entirely in the technicalities and do not have the know-how of quality check.
The FCI, however, outrightly rejected the claims of sub-standard grains and said that there is a proper mechanism that is followed to ensure the quality of the grains.
“The grains are checked at various spots; we are taking care of things at all the go-downs in Kashmir and that there is a proper quality check process which is being followed; the repackaging a re-polishing is carried to clean the scattered grains and then we put that in new bags, that’s is.” Divisional Manager FCI for Kashmir and Ladakh, Prince Hemraj Verma told Excelsior.
He also said that wherever they noticed quality issues, they have taken adequate measures without any delay. “There are few go-downs where 20 quintals, 50 quintals of grains have been stopped and is not being given to the food department due to some quality issues,” he said.
Additional Director FC&SCA district Baramulla Tariq Ahmad told Excelsior that people are sending the rice back because it does not taste good.
“They have just carried out a physical check and nothing else. They will have to tell us chemically whether it is fit for consumption or not. They will have to certify that as it all lies with them,” he said.
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