New Delhi: CBI has filed an FIR against certain former officials of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation (NERAMAC), and some private entities in connection with allegations of irregularities in the allotment of rice.FCI, Delhi Region, officials are accused of bypassing rules to allocate 62,000 MT of rice to NERAMAC at a concessional rate of Rs 23,200 per MT under the Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic). This, the FIR claims, violated the policy, as non-auction allocations are restricted exclusively to state govts or state corporations. The prevailing reserve price is Rs 28,900 per MT.The scheme allegedly caused a loss of Rs 28.87 crore to FCI.The accused NERAMAC officials allegedly empanelled private channel partners, including a Kolkata-based firm, via unvetted MoUs. It has been alleged that instead of distributing rice to daily wagers and migrant workers, the private partners sold it to traders for profit.In June, a vigilance department report on the department of food and public distribution, in the ministry of consumer affairs, was submitted and a committee formed to find out about the allotment of rice.As per policy, NERAMAC, a govt of India owned enterprise, was not eligible for allocation of rice without e-auction.The payment towards allocation of rice was routed through private entities which were either millers or wholesale dealers of rice.
