Assam Public Works moves CID for probe into alleged scams in Agriculture department 

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Assam Public Works (APW) has moved the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) seeking probe into the alleged scams that took place in the Agriculture department about two years back.

According to the APW’s allegations, the Agriculture department had flouted rules and misappropriated funds meant for the procurement and distribution of bio-fertilizer packets and projectors in different districts across the State.

Last month, the APW had filed an FIR (First Information Report) with the CID demanding probe and punishment to those involved in the scam. The organization, in its FIR, has stated that it had received information that Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhizae (VAM) was supplied by a South India-based company in the form of 5 kg packets among farmers during 2018-19.The VAM must contain certain specific components but the 5 kg packets supplied by the company allegedly contained simple river sand and nothing else. Some samples were collected by the APW and produced before the Joint Director of the Agriculture department. The APW claimed that the Joint Director also admitted that the packet had only river sand. The same samples were produced before the Director of Agriculture department and a memorandum was submitted on December 3, 2019, demanding a probe and blockage of payment against the supply of bio-fertilizer packets till the inquiry was completed. The FIR has mentioned that payments against the supply of the bio-fertilizer packets among farmers had been already cleared. On February 10, 2020, the APW submitted another memorandum to the Director of Agriculture department; but no action has been taken in this regard so far.

“Therefore, we (APW) are compelled to believe that there is some mala fide intention and conspiracy was made between the contractor/firm and the officials concerned. We further suspect that there is huge corruption activity going on harming the greater interest of beneficiaries against the supply and tender of VAM powder for the financial year 2018-19,” the FIR said.

APW general secretary Dhrubajyoti Talukdar alleged that the bio-fertilizer packets were distributed among farmers during the time of floods and thus quality monitoring of the product was completely missing.

The FIR also stated that low-quality projectors were supplied to different districts during 2018-19. Talukdar alleged that the projector-supplying firm did even conduct demonstration and training among the district agricultural officers as how to use the projectors.

Talukdar alleged that all the projectors were of low-quality Chinese product which had no brand name and also that there was a vast difference between the actual rate and the tender rate.

When contacted, the Director of Agriculture, Manoj Kumar told The Sentinel that the charges of APW are not true and the organization has not revealed its sources of information before his department. “All guidelines and norms set by the Government of India as well the Assam Government were followed while procuring the bio-fertilizer packets. We have not received a single complaint from the farmers about any poor quality of the product as alleged by the APW,” Kumar said.

Kumar added that even though he was not working in the Agriculture department when the Pico Projectors were procured, the Department followed all rules and guidelines regarding the same.

The APW has, however, contradicted Kumar and demanded a CID inquiry.

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