Paddy field. (Express photo by Yamini Nair) Paddy field. (Express photo by Yamini Nair)

The Haryana government has detected Rs 90-crore scam in the procurement of paddy and its transportation from mandis to the rice mills, following which it has initiated some measures.

The government has decided that from now onwards the transportation of paddy from mandis to rice mills will be done by the state Food and Civil Supplies Department and other procurement agencies instead of by the millers. The trucks deployed for transportation will be GPS-fitted so that their movement can be monitored.

The decision has been taken after the government detected a shortfall of 42,589 metric tonnes (MT) paddy in its stock at rice mills, establishing bogus procurement. The involvement of rice millers, procurement agencies, arhtiyas (commission agents) and marketing board officials is being suspected in the scam.

Haryana Additional Chief Secretary (food, civil supplies and consumer affairs) PK Das said that showcause notices will be issued to the rice millers, whose mills have reported shortage in stock. He said that after receiving the replies, strict action will be taken against the wrongdoers.

Sharing the details about the data complied after the latest physical verification, he said that to check the stock availability and bogus paddy procurement, verification of 1,304 rice mills in the state was done. The verification process, which was videographed, showed a shortfall of 42,589 MT paddy at 1,207 rice mills.

On the other hand, Indian National Lok Dal leader Abhay Chautala claimed that the state government was unnecessarily harassing the rice millers. He alleged that the officials committed scam in connivance with the procurement agencies. Earlier, Abhay Chautala had sought a CBI probe into the matter.

📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App.