A cooperative scam has broken in Haryana. There are allegations that officials of NCCF and NAFED have indulged in irregular transactions. Haryana IAS officer Ashok Khemka had sent a report to the CBI urging the agency to conduct an inquiry in the matter.
The 5 crore scam involves buying of 10 thousand tonne wheat seeds, given to farmers in 2010. Even though the cooperative organisations had no seed stocks with them, they offered to make available the same to HSDC.
This precluded HSDC from buying seeds from private suppliers on competitive rates. The cooperatives bought cheap and low quality seeds from their own favourite middlemen and sold the same at higher rates to HSDC, according to Mr. Khemka’s report.
The report claims that “the wrong action of the officials of NCCF and NAFED, in collusion with middlemen firms, resulted in misappropriation of central government subsidy and wrongly enriched the NAFED and NCCF and their empanelled middlemen firms”.
However, officials of NCCF and NAFED, have denied all allegations levelled against them. Talking to Indian Cooperative NCCF Chairman Virendra Singh said that the Managing Director had already passed marching orders to the accused local branch manager.
But the said officer was later reinstated. The CBI probe is expected to unravel many secrets.
