Can an overhaul end corruption in FCI?
Most gullible people dealing with powerful people in interiors means the corruption king is unlikely to lose its crown anytime soon
Minister of Food & Public Distribution, Piyush Goyal, said today that the government is transforming the Food Corporation of India (FCI) at its 59th Foundation Day.
He said this on the backdrop of multiple raids by the CBI on top-level officers of the FCI across states. The CBI said it has uncovered a syndicate where money from millers is siphoned off to officers at various levels and regions in a syndicate spread across India.
Details of the raids are so gloomy that one could easily compare the syndicate with the Naxalites or terrorists in terms of financing.
FCI is a behemoth that deals with the most gullible – the poor, the distressed, the uneducated, the tribals, but not much directly. It loads most of the rice and wheat through mandis located on the outskirts, where farmers take the grains using their own transport and have to wait for hours before offloading. This in itself puts them at the mercy of the mandi inspectors.
However, the real corruption starts after the FCI collects the grains, and the millers enter. Millers are asked to mill the grains and provide rice and wheat to the government for redistribution through the PDS (Public Distribution System) – PDS rice and wheat are often provided to the people for free or for miniscule amounts of money that no one would dare question the quality.
However, someone did raise the question, and it got CBI involved. They found that in lieu of substandard rice, millers had to pay a hefty amount per truck (up to Rs.4,000, suggesting around Rs.2.5 crores per season at one location).
The money had a meticulous route with a ratio earmarked for officers of the FCI at various levels, including the high-ranking ones. The rice in turn would be sent to different parts of the country to avoid scrutiny, and it remains to be seen how many years it takes for the CBI to unravel this nexus.
Goyal said that strict action will be taken against those found involved in corruption, and FCI must adopt a policy of zero tolerance for corruption. He highlighted the need to reward whistleblowers.
Goyal also asked the Secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution, to monitor the transformation of FCI and Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) every week and to update him on the status on a fortnightly basis.
During his Independence Day speech on 15 August 2022, PM Modi had harped on the need to take action against the corrupt. Many believe 2023 will be the year of crackdowns on corruption. But FCI?
According to marginal farmers, it has become a norm to appease FCI officials, even if you are educated. This is because they can easily reject your grains citing quality. The nexus between FCI, millers, exporters, PDS and then back to restaurants and food companies (where significant amount of grains end up) is too complicated to even imagine, say the farmers.
Take the example of food grain wastage. A huge quantity of foodgrains is reported to be wasted every year in India. “Is the wastage real?”, asks a farmer.
Interestingly, the FCI has live telecasts depo videos from across India on its website. But a look at the videos from CCTV cameras shows that it would be impossible to track corruption there. Instead, it looks more likely to benefit those tracking the number of trucks at the depo. Screengrab below:
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