Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said, “Preliminary probe has shown it as a big scam. We will get it probed by a higher agency.” Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said, “Preliminary probe has shown it as a big scam. We will get it probed by a higher agency.”

Two months after being investigated by a special investigation team (SIT), allegations of financial irregularities amounting to Rs 600 crore have surfaced in purchase of paddy and rice for government-funded schemes in Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar district.

The SIT’s report led to the dismissal of Vishnu Singh Dhanik, regional food controller for Kumaon region, on Monday night. The acquisition was done under him over the last two years.

On Wednesday, Chief Minister Trivendra Rawat said, “Preliminary probe has shown it as a big scam. We will get it probed by a higher agency.”

The report mentioned that the irregularities were committed in the last two years, when the Congress government of then CM Harish Rawat was in power. Dhanik was given service extension by the then government as Kumaon RFC, the report pointed out.

Dhanik declined to comment on his dismissal. “I haven’t seen the SIT report yet, so I cannot comment on it,” Dhanik told The Indian Express.

The four-member SIT was formed in the first week of August to study suspected financial and procedural irregularities in acquiring paddy and rice for public distribution scheme and state schemes. Jagdish Chandra Kandpal, additional district magistrate of Udham Singh Nagar who led the SIT, said, “Most rice supplied across Uttarakhand for government schemes is acquired from Udham Singh Nagar. Therefore, the inquiry was conducted only in this district.”

The SIT report mentions that 3,07,692 quintal rice was purchased in last two years for state-funded schemes. Irregularities were found in acquisition and transportation cost, according to the SIT. It was also found that 50,47,948 quintal paddy (rice before threshing, or in husk) was purchased from Uttar Pradesh and brought to Udham Singh Nagar — while rules mandated it to be acquired through auction, that was not the case for 90 per cent of the acquisition, the probe found.

Besides, inflated amounts were shown on paper, according to SIT.

“We have ordered immediate transfer of officials from Udham Singh Nagar to Garhwal region, and vice-versa. This will help break the nexus between officials involved in committing the irregularities,” Anand Bardhan, principal secretary (food and civil supplies), told The Indian Express.

Bardhan, tasked with studying the SIT report and making further recommendations to the government, said, “The SIT mentions procedural and financial irregularities (in acquiring, and distribution). We will recommend a special audit.”

When added for the past two years, the irregularities added up to approximately Rs 600 crore, Bardhan said, although actual figures will be assessed only in a special audit.

This is the second scam unearthed in Udham Singh Nagar this year.

In March, six government officials were suspended for alleged involvement in a Rs 240-crore scam in acquisition of land for widening of NH-74 in Udham Singh Nagar. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari had, however, raised objections on an inquiry on NHAI officials in the alleged scam. While Rawat had announced that the CBI had accepted the state government’s request to probe the scam, no CBI probe has been initiated till date.

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