CUTTACK: Even as allegations of ghost beneficiaries getting ration under the PDS scheme have come to the fore in the city, the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) and Civil Supplies department are yet to initiate a probe into the matter.
Sources said there are discrepancies in the selection of beneficiaries under National Food Security Act (NFSA) and the State Food Security Scheme (SFSS) in the city which became evident during distribution of special ration and financial assistance during the first and second wave of Covid-19 pandemic. As per reports, there are 72,178 beneficiaries receiving subsidised food grains including rice, wheat and kerosene under both the schemes in the city.
Ration for five months was given to the beneficiaries during the first wave of the pandemic last year and again for three months were during the second wave this year under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana.
The special relief package included five kg of rice per head and one kg dal per family.
This apart, the beneficiaries were also given financial assistance of Rs 1,000 each. The civic body had received over Rs 7.21 crore for the purpose. However, as per CMC’s records, while over Rs 7.09 crore was disbursed among 70,949 beneficiaries, the rest Rs 12.29 lakh could not be given to 1,229 beneficiaries and returned to the district civil supplies officer.
Both the CMC and the district civil supplies officials are clueless about why the 1,229 beneficiaries, who have been lifting their rations under the food security schemes, did not turn up for the financial assistance. What’s intriguing is that no probe has yet been initiated to ascertain its cause.
While CMC officials did not comment on the issue, chief district civil supplies officer Tushar Kant Deo said he has instructed additional civil supplies officer Gyanendra Mishra who is in charge of CMC to verify the genuineness of the beneficiaries who did not turn up to receive the financial assistance.