FCI let over 4 lakh tonne wheat rot away: CAG

NEW DELHI: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has said in an audit report on the Food Corporation of India ( FCI) that more than 4.72 lakh tonnes of wheat valued at Rs700.30 crore got damaged in Punjab till March 2016 due to delay in implementation of the private entrepreneur scheme which was expected to increase the storage capacity of foodgrains in the state.

The damaged wheat was declared as non-issuable for public distribution as it was stored in open areas, said the report which was tabled in Parliament on Friday. The report pertains to implementation of the Private Entrepreneur Guarantee (PEG) schemes in Punjab and the way the FCI managed its debt, labour and incentive payments during 2011-16. The auditor also found that the stateowned FCI sold wheat to bulk consumers at a rate below the cost under open market sale scheme during 2013-14, leading to non-recovery of Rs38.99 crore Further, due to non-rationalisation of surplus departmental labour and deployment of costlier labour at depots resulted in excess expenditure of Rs237.65 crore, it said. The CAG also said that there was delay in award of contracts for construction of godowns.

“The PEG scheme 2008 was launched to enhance covered storage capacities as the covered and plinth (CAP)/kacha storage is prone to damage and deterioration of stock and is not an optimum storage method.

However, as on 31March 2016 in Punjab, 53.56 LMT of wheat stock was lying in CAP/kacha and in mandi,” it said. Such stock increased from 103.36 lakh tonnes in 2011-12 to 132.68 lakh tonnes in 2012-13, the CAG said.