UNION Minister Piyush Goyal could not have been more blunt in his speech on the foundation day of the Food Corporation of India (FCI). The raids conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) earlier this month, he said, were a wake-up call. The organisation has, over the decades, gained notoriety for being a den of corruption. Calling for institutionalising a mechanism to reward whistleblowers, he asked the staff to report incidents of graft and be ready to face action for any wrongdoing. The CBI’s ‘Operation Kanak’ has revealed brazen malpractices committed by an alleged syndicate of FCI officials and millers. A well-oiled system of bribery and misappropriation of stocks has come to light. It’s an opportune time to widen the probe and prioritise a mass-scale clean-up. Cases of corruption should be taken to their logical end. Fast-track adjudication is vital.
To ‘pilfer and adulterate’ was the standard operating procedure at every step of wheat and rice procurement, stocking and distribution in Punjab. From the labourer to top officials, all got a monthly cut. The losses to the government have been estimated at hundreds of crores. A similar nexus of FCI officials, private millers and grain merchants was detected in some other states. Bribes were paid even for managing inquiries into various malpractices. The FCI has been praised for running the world’s largest food supply chain system, especially during the pandemic. The graft taint overshadows all the creditable work.
Hoodwinking the FCI has been a recurring theme, with not much success. Online payment is being promoted as a viable option to bring in transparency. Administrative reforms and structural changes are on the agenda. The minister has sought regular updates on the transformation of the FCI and the Central Warehousing Corporation, with directions for strict action against officers not cooperating or delaying the process. Weeding out the systemic corruption has to be central to any change.
