Against rule of 105 bags a day, FCI 'baahubalis' handled 1,776

NEW DELHI: A Comptroller and Auditor General ( CAG) report on the performance of the Food Corporation of India ( FCI) has found that labourers at its various depots were handling 998 to 1,776 bags per day , unusually high against all prescribed norms, indicating "proxy labourers" being paid by the government agency.

Against the prescribed norm of handling 105 bags a day, the labourers were actually handling 110 to 197 bags every hour, continuously for nine hours a day. But, despite this, the FCI lost a substantial quantity of its foodgrains lying in open areas--about 4.72 lakh tonnes of wheat valued at Rs 700 crore deteriorated and was declared unfit for public distribution during 2007-12.

If the baggage carrying capacity of these workers is analysed, it shows a remarkable output: a labourer handling 998 baggage a day was actually loading-unloading more than 110 bags every hour, continuously for nine hours. Similarly, the labourer handling 1,776 bags a day was actually loadingunloading 197 bags every hour, continuously for nine hours.

The report, to be tabled in Parliament, has raised a red flag on the payments of more than Rs 230 crore towards unusual labour cost. "The labour at various depots were found as per records to be handling very high number of bags per day ranging from 998 to 1,776 as against the norm of 105 bags per day," the auditor has observed.

The exorbitant incentives being paid to these labourers if investigated could lead to unfolding of a bigger scam in the FCI. The auditor has highlighted non rationalisation of surplus departmental labour, deployment of costlier labour at depots and non-pooling of labour as some of the reasons behind this excessive practice.

The federal auditor has recommended action for elimination of proxy labour by ensuring proper documentation of prescribed details in the booking-cum-output slips, expediting installation of biometric attendance system and CCTV installations at FCI depots.

The report also highlighted the need for incorporating automated red flag indicators in financial accounting package for suspected abnormally high claims towards incentives and over time allowance.