SHILLONG, June 28: Buckling under pressure, the state government has finally decided to conduct a probe into the alleged rice scam that rocked the state recently.
Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma said there has been some amount of confusion but in the interest of transparency, the government has decided to constitute an independent inquiry commission to get the matter probed.
“We want to be transparent and ensure that no scam takes place,” he said, adding the probe panel will submit its report within three months from the day of its constitution.
Asked about the poor quality of food, he said as per reports, the products are tested every month.
Even the Centre has taken a serious note of the alleged diversion of rice meant for children, pregnant women and adolescent girls in Meghalaya under the Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP) of the Ministry of Social Welfare. Officials of the Ministry were said to be surprised that no arrest has been made so far in connection with the case.
The matter came to light when Assam’s Boko police had seized a huge number of rice bags, each weighing 50 kg, from a godown belonging to Maruti Quality Food Ltd on June 1.
It is believed the rice bags provided by the Centre at a subsidised rate landed up at the private storehouse for the purpose of repackaging and sale to third parties.
Insiders in the Ministry of Social Welfare wondered how the officials in Meghalaya claimed the rice for the past one year had been utilised when the state’s schools remained closed due to the pandemic.
The state government maintains that the rice was allotted by the Social Welfare Department from the Food Corporation of India to the approved manufacturer of food items under the SNP and the manufacturer lifted the allotted quota for the state to process it into micronutrient energy dense fortified food. Therefore, government says, the allegation of diversion does not arise.
