There has been no such evidence that there was any illegal diversion of one lakh bags of rice, as had been claimed by a local newspaper a few days ago, the Director of Social Welfare, DD Shira, said today.
A newspaper had reported that Assam police had uncovered the alleged scam, wherein one lakh bags of rice had been moved from the Food Corporation of India warehouse in Shillong to a private facility in Assam and was being repackaged under another brand name.
In a statement today, Shira said that it is the practice of the Social Welfare Directorate to allocate rice received from a central government nutritional programme to an “approved manufacturer”, Continental Milkose, which then makes a range of fortified food products that are supplied to Anganwadi centres under the nutritional programme.
The newspaper report alleged that the rice was being rebranded under a label of Continental Milkose and then sold to Assam Rifles.
Such a large diversion of grain would have resulted in a shortfall in supply but there has been no such instance so far, Shira said. Samples are also routinely sent by the directorate for testing to ensure that adequate quality standards are maintained and these tests have not turned up anything suspicious.
The directorate is waiting for further information from the Assam authorities into the matter.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma also assured the public that the rice in question was not from the Public Distribution System or to do with Covid relief.
Meanwhile, Congress MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh questioned the seizure, saying that if there is a scam then the guilty have to be brought to book, while, on the other hand, if there was not, then the Assam government should apologise for maligning Meghalaya’s name.
She also said the grievance redressal committee under the National Food Security Act should immediately file suo motu cases in the matter.
“It is one thing to be in denial but another thing to see that the government is serious about the rice that is meant for the poor people but is being diverted to the open market in another company’s name. What happened? Are you swapping better quality rice that has been sent by the government of India to our poor people?” the East Shillong legislator asked.
The youth wing of the Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) also demanded that Meghalaya act on the accusation.
