KOLKATA: Arrested TMC minister Jyotipriya Mallick had apparently ignored red flags raised by the Centre on three occasions over the issue of distribution of foodgrains through Public Distribution System (PDS) in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic when he was the Bengal food and supplies minister before taking charge of forest department in 2021.
A source in the West Bengal government said the central government had informed the state three times in 2020 that the beneficiaries were getting lesser than specified foodgrains and as a result, 359 ration dealers, mainly in North 24-Parganas, Mallick’s turf, Nadia and Murshidabad districts, were showcaused.
On every occasion, Mallick, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with an alleged ration scam, was conveyed the Centre’s warning. “But no stern action was taken against the ration dealers, who were served showcause notice, as it appeared Mallick’s department did not want to dig deep,” said a bureaucrat in the state government.
S. Jagannathan, the then joint secretary of the Union ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution, had written to the secretary of the state government’s food and supplies department informing that the beneficiaries were not getting foodgrains according to their entitlement, said a source.
“The issue was conveyed to Mallick’s department. Despite ration shops at several districts were vandalised by people alleging that they were not getting foodgrains according to their entitlement but nothing other than showcausing some ration dealers was done on the part of Mallick’s department,” said an official.
The former governor, West Bengal, Jagdeep Dhankhar, too, had also raised the issue about the irregularities in the PDS during the pandemic. The Centre had supplied 5kg of free foodgrains each to around six crore beneficiaries in Bengal every month during the nationwide lockdown which was later extended till middle of 1921.
‘Family under scanner’
The central investigating agency said that TMC minister Jyotipriya Mallick’s wife and daughter are also under the scanner as a huge amount of unaccounted money was transferred to their accounts. “We are examining the accounts of three shell companies in the name of persons having link to Mallick,” said an official.