Patiala, September 29
As the CBI and the Union Ministry of Food have started taking samples of rice procured by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) from its godowns in Punjab after complaints of substandard quality were received, Mr T.C. Gupta, Senior Regional Manager, FCI, Punjab, has ordered compulsory retirement of 14 employees and suspension of 86 others for the lapses.

Senior FCI officials have been told to find out where from the field staff procured substandard rice from millers and why the stock was accepted by officials concerned.

“I have ordered compulsory retirement of 14 FCI employees and suspension of 86 others for alleged involvement in accepting substandard rice from millers. These employees belong to Punjab and action against them has been taken after complaints of bad quality of rice were received from the consuming states including Andhra Pradesh,” said Mr Gupta adding this had been done in a month.

He added officials of the Union Ministry of Food and the CBI had been taking samples of rice stored in FCI godowns of Punjab to check quality.

This was being done following complaints were received from the states where the rice was despatched from Punjab that stock which they had received was of substandard quality.

He pointed out that of 90 lakh MT of rice which was procured from millers by the FCI last year, 80 lakh MT had already been despatched to rice-consuming states.

He added that rice-consuming states had still been filing complaints in connection with poor quality of rice.

It was not for the first time that rice-consuming states had complained of substandard quality of rice despatched to them by the FCI from Punjab.

Five years ago, rice-consuming states had stopped accepting Punjab rice from the FCI.

Whether bad quality rice from the FCI from Punjab, had been sent back to Punjab could not be known.

A section of FCI officials posted in Punjab, and connected with quality control, had made money by accepting substandard rice from millers.

A major section of millers had sold out good quality rice in open market and supplied substandard rice to the FCI by purchasing the required stock of it from UP and other states.

Mr Gupta said officials, responsible for accepting substandard rice, must be taken to task and given exemplary punishment.