M A I N   N E W S

Rice mill gets Rs 1.5 cr ‘refund’ illegally
It is tip of iceberg in Mandi Board scam
P. P. S. Gill
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 28
The Punjab Mandi Board is scrutinising an inhouse report, wherein, it has been revealed that more than Rs 1.5 crore has been refunded by way of market and rural development fees to a rice mill, which was not entitled to such repayment, as it had not paid either of the two fees.

The Khamanon mill, says the report, received a payment of Rs 72,20,180 from market committees of Ludhiana (Khanna, Samrala and Machhiwara) and Amritsar (Gheri, Rayya and Amritsar) and Rs 79,73,842 from market committees of Ropar and Chamkaur Sahib.

It is reliably learnt that at least two officers in the Mandi Board head office in Chandigarh have also been named in the report, indicating their connivance. It is mentioned that the case files not be sent to them. One report, pertaining to Amritsar and Ludhiana, was submitted on July 1 and the other, pertaining to Ropar, on August 19. These reports give details of dates, names of firms and records of “bogus” papers that were allegedly submitted by the firm to claim the huge refund.

It is pertinent to mention that the Punjab Agricultural Produce and Markets (General) Rules, 1962, were amended through a gazette notification in September, 1998, wherein, an additional Rule 30 (11) was inserted. It reads, ‘’The committee shall refund the market fee deposited by a dealer of rice or paddy out of which rice is extracted and exported by him to other countries from the state of Punjab on production of export documents and clearance by the authorities by making payment of duty of customs, if any, leviable under the Customs Act, 1962, within the state of Punjab and on production of Form K-4’’.

The probe conducted in the market committees of Amritsar, Ropar and Ludhiana district is just the tip of the iceberg, as it pertains to just one rice mill. There are reports that several firms have taken advantage of this Rule and claimed refund of market and rural development fee that they, reportedly, never paid.

In this particular case, the firm, the inquiry report says, succeeded in obtaining refund without having ever paid either market or rural development fees and also by submitting incomplete or “bogus” documents of a bunch of firms, much against the stipulated Rule 30 (11) and provisions of Form K-4. The report, inter alia, also mentions that in all cases “undue” haste and interest was shown by the market committee secretary, district mandi officer concerned and audit staff, both in making refund as well as forwarding the refund case to the Rural Development Fund authorities for repayment. Interestingly, the report also reveals that the beneficiary Khamanon firm is neither a licensee nor a dealer nor does it fall in the jurisdiction of the notified market committees which have refunded the money to it.

Sources say that all aspects mentioned in the two reports of a ‘’case study’’ are being examined and action would be taken against all those found guilty. The inhouse probe report has ruffled many a feather in the Mandi Board, which has often been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Sources reveal that besides the latest refund scam for exporting rice, there are cases pertaining to irregularities and evasion of market fee in respect of other produce as well in several districts, like cotton in Muktsar mandi, that are now being probed and pursued.

That files go missing or gather dust in the Vigilance wing is a common occurrence, allege the sources.