Four ration shops lose licence for diverting PDS rice to pvt godown

THRISSUR: The civil supplies officials, during recent raids, found gross misappropriation in the PDS stocks at four ration shops at Cherpu, Puthoor and Ponganamkkadu and suspended their licences.

Moreover, 300 plastic sacks full of rice were seized from a private godown near a ration shop at Cherpu.

It may be recalled that the public and beneficiaries had alleged diversion of Public Distribution System items even after the foodgrain is supplied directly to the ration shops from wholesale godowns.

Taluk supply officer N Jayachandran said that raids were conducted at Puthoor and Ponganamkkad as directed by the officials at the civil supplies directorate in Thiruvanthapuram.

Though the ration owners claimed that they had supplied rations to the beneficiaries, the inspection of ration cards at households revealed that no foodgrain had been given to the beneficiaries. The bills at the ration shops were forged.

The expected stocks were not found in two suspended ration shops at Cherpu.
"Quality controllers from civil supplies and Food Corporation of India (FCI) inspected the rice found in 300 sacks at the private godown at Cherpu near the ration shop.

“The godown owner could not produce any valid document about his stocks and from where they were brought," Mr Jayachandran said.

It is learnt from the whistle-blowers among the ration shop owners that a Poothole-based private rice dealer who is notorious for diverting grain from PDS was behind the stocks in the private godown.

Considering his influence in the civil supplies department, the quality controllers of both CSD and FCI would report that the seized rice was not diverted from the PDS, it is alleged.

Soon after the 300 sacks without documents were seized, the civil supplies officials wanted to take the sacks to the wholesale godowns, but the public at Cherpu blocked the move.