Jaipur, Jan 8 (PTI) The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Rajasthan has registered a case against several consumer federation officials and private firms for alleged irregularities and corruption involving
over Rs 2,000 crore in the supply of food items under the state Mid-Day Meal scheme during COVID-19, the agency said on Thursday.
The alleged irregularities took place when schools were closed due to the pandemic and combo packs containing pulses, oil and spices were supplied to students through the Rajasthan State Cooperative Consumer Federation Ltd (CONFED), according to an ACB statement.
Complaints of large-scale irregularities in the scheme led the ACB to conduct a preliminary inquiry, followed by a detailed investigation.
The probe found that officials associated with the scheme and CONFED allegedly changed rules in collusion to exclude eligible firms from the tender process and extended undue benefits to favoured companies. These firms allegedly sublet the work illegally to create a network of fake suppliers and transporters.
The ACB found that in several cases, payments were released on the basis of inflated and fake bills without actual procurement or supply of goods.
"The scam caused an estimated loss of about Rs 2,000 crore to the state exchequer," the ACB said.
Those named in the case include assistant accounts officer Sanwataram, managers Rajendra, Lokesh Kumar Bapna, Yogendra Sharma and Rajendra Singh Shekhawat, assistant manager Pratibha Saini, warehouse keeper Ramdhan Bairwa, supervisor Dinesh Kumar Sharma, and several officials of Central Bhandar, besides proprietors of private firms, including Tirupati Suppliers, Jagrat Enterprises, MT Enterprises and Sai Trading, among others.
The ACB said further investigation is going into the role of the accused, financial transactions, alleged forgery of documents and misuse of government funds, and strict action will be taken as per law against those found guilty. PTI SDA DV
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