After an RTI pointed towards discrepancies in food procurement scam by the Indian Railways, the government body has suspended three Railway officials and transferred another, saying that the information given in response to the RTI was wrong.
A report in The Hindu had said that the government’s response to an RTI query by activist Ajay Bose revealed that curd was bought for about Rs 9,720 a kilo, close to 40 times the going rate in the market. The government is said to have bought 15,336 units of curd, for a whopping Rs 1,49,19,934. The reply reportedly mentions the rates for other items too.
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The Railways had initially ordered a probe in the matter, and have seemed to have found the source of the problem. It clarified on Twitter that curd, for example, was purchased for Rs 972 a kilo, and not Rs 9,720.
The report had said that fifty-eight litres of cooking oil were reportedly bought for Rs 72,034 in March 2016. That would make a litre for Rs 1,241. 170 bottles of water/cold drinks were bought for Rs 1,06,031, at an approximate average of Rs 59 a bottle.
In other reported procurements, Moong and Tur dal were bought for Rs 157 per kilo; 570 kilos of the former were bought and 148.5 kilos of the latter were got.
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Also, over 650 kilos of chicken were bought for close to Rs 233 per kilo.
The report mentioned that Bose had filed a second RTI after filing one in July 2016. There was no response to the first appeal, and the response to the second disclosed the information.
According to the report, there is also a discrepancy in distribution by the Railways. It mentions that while India’s biggest employer said it distributed 450 kilos of flour to the canteens it runs, only 250 kilos were reportedly purchased for Rs 7,680. The RTI response mentions a similar trend with Basmati rice, with the government saying it distributed 745 kilos while having bought only 255 kilos.
Ravindra Goyal, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), CR told the newspaper that the mistake could be down to a “typing error”, and that he would look into the issue.
Subhash Gupta, a member of the Zonal Railway Users Consultative Committee (ZRUCC) and president of the Rail Pravasi Sangh told The Hindu that action should be taken against the officials involved and that so many irregularities cannot be typing mistakes. “This has been happening since long and passengers are always the losers. Due to such scams, the railways claims it is running at a loss, increases fares and decreases passenger amenities,” he reportedly said.
