3000 Qtl of rice do the Houdini act
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, March 30:
The rice mafia has struck again with matter coming to light that 3000 quintal of rice meant for the months of October, November and December last year for the people of Senapati district doing the Houdini act and disappearing into thin air after the same was lifted from the FCS godown.
Since the rice for the said three months has disappeared into thin air, no utilisation certificates have been furnished and this has added to the woes of the people of Senapati as the Government has put a ban on lifting rice for the months of January, February and March this year pending the submission of the utilisation certificates.
Disclosing this to The Sangai Express an official source said that the district administration of Senapati has already been instructed to furnish the utilisation certificates for the said months of October, November and December, 2007 .
However the district administration has not been able to furnish the same till date, said the source and added that instead of producing the utilisation certificate the district administration has been repeatedly submitting written intimations to the Chief Secretary that the rice quota for the three months have been misappropriated.
The Deputy Commissioner of Senapati district should report the matter to the police and register a case so that investigations may be conducted to unearth the truth, opined the official source and added that till date no case has been registered with the police.
The Government has taken a very serious note of the matter, said the source and added that it has already been made clear that the pending rice quota will not be released until the utilisation certificates for the unaccounted quota are submitted.
In direct contrast with the case of Senapati, the other districts of the State have submitted the utilisation certificates for the rice quota till March this year, disclosed the source further.
When The Sangai Express contacted an official of Senapati district, the official, on condition of anonymity, said that following numerous complaints from the local people that they have not received their rice quota from the FCS, a preliminary investigation was set into motion.
During the course of the investigation, it has been confirmed that the rice for the said three months have been lifted from the FCS godown, said the official.
However it is yet to be confirmed whether the rice was actually distributed to the people or not, said the source further.
On the other hand it has been confirmed that no utilisation certificates for the said months have been furnished, admitted the official.
It is yet not known who was or were responsible for lifting the said rice quota and there is as yet no lead on how it has disappeared into thin air.
In the face of failure to make any headway in getting to the heart of the matter, the district administration of Senapati has already submitted intimations numerous times to the Government said that said rice quota has been misappropriated, said the source.
Asserting that the best efforts are being made to make rice available to the people of the district, indents for the rice quota of January this year has been booked.
This however has failed to cut ice with the Government as the Government has made it clear that no rice would be allowed to be lifted pending the submission of the utilisation certificates for the said three months of October, November and December 2007, said the official from Senapati.