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| FCS & CA deptt deducts employees' salary to hide multi-crore 'fraud' | | | Saahil Suhail
Early Times Report
ANANTNAG, Feb 20: Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs has started deducting salaries of employees in South Kashmir's Anantnag district to recover an amount which the employees allege was 'embezzled' by the officers.
A group of agitated employees told Early Times Rs. 5,000 were deducted from their salaries to recover an amount of 48 lakhs raised due to diversion of food grains from one category to another under different schemes in the district.
Documents reveal that the amount rose due to diversion of food grains from one category to another under different schemes in Kashmir division is 428.44 Lakh rupees. Letter vide No. FCS&CA/Acctts/Bgt/420-28 dated 15/09/2017 reads, "During reconciliation of food grains both physical and financial for the year 2016-17 it was established that diversion of food grains from one category to another under different schemes have been committed during distribution of ration at the district and has resulted in short/less remittance to the extent of Rs 428.44 lakh."
Budgam district tops with Rs 167.67 lakh while as Ganderbal is lowest one with just Rs 10.43 lakh. Officials' privy to the development said that in Baramullah district the employees of the department were directed to pay in cash and the later the same amount was deposited.
In Anantnag, the department has started deducting the salaries of employees after they refused to pay and alleged that the top officers of the department were involved in the fraud.
"Store keepers and fair price shopkeepers were directed to distribute food-grains as per PDS portal allocations when the government implemented National Food Security Act. We were directed to ensure distribution takes place without any confusion but now they have cropped the issue of diversion and have started deducting the salaries," said the employees.
Raising serious questions, they said that they continue to submit monthly grain-bag statements and cash remittance/deposition statements to the office of Assistant Director FCS&CA department and if the distribution was over and above the so-called actual allocation then they should have been intimated next month but it didn't happen.
They said that they have no control over PDS portal in any manner and addition, deletion, insertion and category change was happening on the orders of Assistant Director. Holding responsible officers of the department for the diversion and financial fraud, the employees have sought a probe into the matter.
"We demand a probe and are ready to approach court if the department didn't stop deducting our salaries," they added.
Assistant Accounts Officer, Mohammad Ashraf on being contacted denied to have deducted the salaries of employees. "It's not true. We haven't deducted the salaries of employees," he said.
However, Assistant Director FCS&CA admitted and said that he was only helping the employees. "Most of the employees cooperated with us but few are showing reluctance. They think that the government will let off them," he said.
Interestingly, the department hasn't initiated any enquiry into the matter of diversion of food-grains but came out with a novel idea and started deducting the salaries of employees to recover over 4 crore rupees from them in different district of Kashmir valley. |
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