Govt left paddy in open to hide graft: Cong

Raipur, June 19, 2013

Congress on Wednesday alleged that the government had left massive amount of stocked paddy in open to rot because it wanted to hide corruption and irregularities done during procurement process. 

“The paddies drenched in recent rains have started sprouting and are on verge of rotting. This proves that the government is deliberately ignoring safety of paddy stocks,” said Congress spokesperson Sushil Anand Shukla.

“Since the government is scared of being exposed it is least bothered about safety of paddy stocks,” he added.

He pointed that the Congress had continuously raised grafts in paddy procurement and storage procedures from Vidhan Sabha to streets in the past.

“The government claims to have procured 71 lakh tonne paddy, but has sent less than half of the purchased paddy for custom milling. Still, about 36 lakh tonne paddy is being stocked in open. The cost of this massive stock is about Rs 40000 crore but the government has not made any provision to protect the paddies from being drenched in rain. On the name of safety, it is merely using cap cover which is insufficient,” he said.

“When the government was aware that monsoon will reach Chhattisgarh in the first week of June this year then why it did not make adequate arrangement for safety of paddy stocks,” he asked.

“Ironically, on one side the government feigns that it is concerned about poor and makes Food Security Act, while on the other it leaves huge stock of paddy in open to drench and rot in rains. The government use public money to procure paddy and it is its moral and constitutional responsibility to keep the paddy stocks safe and secure,” he said.