23 bribery cases in FCI in last 3 yrs: Ram Vilas Paswan

NEW DELHI: As many as 23 bribery cases have been detected or reported during the last three years from various offices of the FCI, with maximum from Punjab.

According to a written reply given in Lok Sabha by Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, Punjab has reported maximum nine cases of corruption in Food Corporation of India (FCI) during last three years followed by Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan with two cases each.

"There are 23 cases of corruption (bribery) detected/ reported during the last three years in various offices of FCI," Paswan said.

The minister added the FCI is developing a system for online procurement of foodgrains, which will also have all the details of farmers.

The system will issue messages to farmers on their mobile numbers regarding procurement centre details and will also enable direct transfer of payment to farmers bank account, he said.

Meanwhile, in a separate reply, Paswan said 70.78 lakh tonnes of wheat in excess of stocking norms was available in the central pool as on April 1.