BHUBANESWAR: As custom milled rice (CMR) worth over `1.45 crore has not been recovered from a private rice miller of Khurda for more than four years, the Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation (OSCSC) has requested the Sate Government to take suitable action against four officials of the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare (FS&CW) Department.
The State Government had conducted a special audit into the alleged misappropriation of CMR by Bajrangi Food Industries, a private miller in Khurda district, for kharif marketing season 2012-13.
The audit report submitted in August 2014 said the custom miller had misappropriated rice worth `1,45,15,952. While the private miller has failed to deliver the rice to the corporation, the cost of the CMR has not been recovered till date.
The Civil Supplies Corporation has identified three officers, who were posted as Civil Supplies Officer-cum-District Manager for Khurda during the period, responsible for recovery of the cost.
As per the findings of the audit report, Assistant Civil Supply Officer Abhimanyu Mohanty was the authorised officer of the mill. While he failed to discharge his duties, the CSO-cum-DM of the district is equally responsible for short delivery of the custom milled rice by the miller, the report stated.
The other three officers found negligent were Amar Mohapatra, Sudhakar Pradhan and Sarat Chandra Das. While Mohapatra was in-charge of CSO-cum-DM of the district from May 19, 2010 to July 16, 2013, Pradhan was in-charge for nearly two months. However, Das was the district manager till the date of audit.
“Since these officials are under the administrative control of the Principal Secretary of the FS&CW Department, it is requested to take suitable action against the officials responsible for misappropriation of CMR by the miller,” said an official note of the OSCSC Managing Director.
Earlier, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has rapped the department for showing undue favour to private rice millers for custom milling of paddy despite huge arrears pending against them.
The CAG in its report for General and Social Sector for year ending March 2015 said despite default in delivery of 2,594 tonne of custom milled rice valued at `5.44 crore, personal property of the millers could not be attached as per terms and conditions of the agreement due to non-availability of property details.