There is more to it than meets the eye in the news that the agri co-operative Nafed is going to provide pulses to 20 crore households for three months in the country and there is a fear that it may finally cost the Nafed MD Sanjeev Chaddha his job.
The matter has its origin in a video-conferencing held on 13th April on the issue of distribution of pulses in states by Nafed.
Along with some of the top bureaucrats of Consumer Affairs Ministry, Nafed MD Sanjeev Chaddha were also at the receiving end of Ministerial wrath during a video conference, in which several state consumer ministers complained to Ram Vilas Paswan that though rice and atta are being supplied to them from the centre, there is no supply of dal (pulses) as promised under the PM Garib Anna Yojna.
Chaddha was also one of the participants in the 13th April Video-Conferencing and when Paswan asked him about the reasons for the delay he was not forthcoming and straight, sources said.
Later the matter went up to the PMO which asked the Ministry to explain the delay. While Pawan Agrawal, who had recently joined as the Secretary in the ministry, was transferred as a consequence of the delay, the role of Nafed and its MD came under the scanner.
Since Nafed does not fall under the Consumer Ministry and it only stores a few agri-produces including pulses and onions for it, the Minister stopped short of taking any action against the Nafed MD, a top source adds.
The source added that the Nafed MD lied to the Minister on the issue of ready-to-use pulses, which enraged Paswan. While in the beginning Chaddha had claimed that Nafed had sufficient pulses, he did not disclose that it was un-milled pulses he was referring to.
The source from the Consumer Ministry also referred to a recent case of onion storage by Nafed, in which out of 57 thousand tonnes, the Ministry was given only 26000 tonnes. “We know that 10-15 % wastage is normal but the disappearance of more than 50% in the name of wastage is incomprehensible”, he added.
It is interesting to know that though a cooperative body, the affairs of Nafed are almost single-handed run by its MD and his team, who has been in the office for many years.
Opening his heart on the Nafed affairs, one of its Directors, on condition of anonymity said “In the wake of tie-up losses and near-impossible revival of the agri-cooperative, co-operators have been more than careful in handling its financial affairs. The Nafed MD has taken advantage of precisely this situation and has gone ahead running the affairs of the co-op in whatever manner he deems fit.
The co-operator also alleged that the process of procurement of pulses by Nafed is hardly done from the co-operative societies as is being told. “A few Marwadis (name of a company called Star Agri comes up frequently) who have easy access to Nafed officials control the supply chain of dalhan-telhan to Nafed- a charge which is serious enough for the agriculture ministry to look into”, he added.
It is being said that a demoralized team of co-operators (due to the past incident of tie-up losses) know everything but are helpless as the MD every now and then threatens them in the name of PMO. This is high time, the Agriculture Ministry looked into the affairs of Nafed.
