Systemic plunder of foodgrains for poor in multi-crore PDS scam in Delhi : Goel

·         Systemic plunder of foodgrains for poor in multi-crore PDS scam in Delhi : Goel

·         Delhi BJP demands white paper on ‘status of PDS’ in Delhi

·         Lakhs of fake ration cards, foodgrains meant for poor diverted to Pvt. flour mills, open market

Delhi BJP President Shri Vijay Goel slammed the Congress government for systemic plunder of foodgrains meant for poor as exposed by a sting operation also recently.  The party demanded a white paper on the status of PDS in Delhi. It also demanded sacking of Food and Civil Supplies Minister and resignation of the Chief Minister over the latest expose’ done in the sting operation.

Addressing a press conference today, Shri Goel said, “The Congress government is duping the poor through multi-crore PDS scam. Fake ration cards have been made in lakhs and a nexus of food and civil supplies department and back market players is in play. Foodgrains are meant for the poor are being diverted to private flour mills. Mere suspension of half a dozen junior officials won’t do. Those at the top must take responsibility and explain how this was happening under their noses.”

“The PDS scam has several components like selling off foodgrains in the open market, routing substandard foodgrains to the Ration Shops and Ration Card scam.”

To engineer the systemic loot in PDS, the Congress government effected the fake ration card scam in which lakhs of ration cards were issued in the name of non-existing individuals even as the genuine households are not able to get ration cards. The state of affairs became such that the number of people listed on the ration cards exceeded the population estimate of Census-2011 for Delhi, he added.

According to the 2011 census, the city’s population was 1.68 crore. But, the names on ration cards have issued are 1.8 crore. Even the 2011 Economic Survey of Delhi said that the city has 33.4 lakh households and 32.26 lakh ration cards. It had been found in 2008 itself that more than 1.7 lakh bogus ration cards were issued in Delhi. In the past five years, the Delhi government has only helped the scam grow fatter.

When this scam was exposed, the Delhi government had in fact cut off names of hundreds of genuine BPL people from the list of PDS beneficiaries while the fake entries remained on the list and the loot continues. Thus, the real beneficiaries have been deprived of the PDS benefit while the Congress ministers in Delhi cabinet continue to be benefited from the PDS scam.

The CAG found a curious case of rise and fall in the number of APL card owners. Number of APL cards rose from 1.36 lakh in September 2010 to 1.38 lakh in October 2010 and then fell to 1.15 lakh in November 2011. Were people jumping through the barriers of BPL or was there a scam being effected and then a cover up was being planned?

During audit of the Delhi government’s Food and Civil Supplies Department, the CAG found that more than 82, 000 ration cards were printed in excess. Data for more than 92,000 ration cards already issued was not available with the government. There cards were for non-existent beneficiaries.

When the PDS scam is so craftily designed by the Delhi government, how can Congress claim that the subsidized rice, wheat and other grains under the food security scheme will be given to every poor living in Delhi? The food security scheme, in fact, is the food insecurity scheme under the Congress.