Srinagar: Jammu & Kashmir RTI Movement has demanded that a probe should be conducted by authorities through Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) against the officials of Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA) for selling ration on exorbitant rates to poor people who otherwise are entitled to get subsidized ration under BPL quota.
In a statement Chairman RTI Movement Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat said that in many villages of Budgam and some other districts the officials of FCS & CA have been selling ration to BPL ration card holder on exorbitant rates (APL rates) for last 4 to 5 years without informing the poor consumers that they were under BPL / PHH category as per online information available on FCS & CA portal
” We have exposed a scam with proof which proves that fake APL ration cards were provided to Below Poverty Line (BPL) consumers. Our team of activists lead by Mushtaq Ahmad Lone obtained lot of information which proves that almost 30 families in only Loolipora village of Chadoora sub division were entitled to get subsidized rice under BPL / PHH quota as their name is uploaded on the Government food portal under BPL and PHH , but the officials of Food and Civil Supplies department especially store keepers along with some other tehsil and district level officials have provided these poor people fake ration cards with APL marking. For last 4 years each BPL person in the village has paid Rs 40,000 to Rs 45,000 extra. This means in only a single village officials of FCS & CA have embezzled Rs 12 to 13 lakh rupees and imagine how much this would be in 5000 villages of J&K where people have similar complaints, ” Muzaffar said.
RTI Movement has demanded a high level probe into this issue and appealed Secretary FCS & CA and Director Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) to probe the issue. “We are also planning to to seek judicial intervention into this case by filing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in J&K High Court soon ” statement reads

KR Desk