Jajpur: A scam involving fraudulent vendor receipts in paddy procurement, amounting to over Rs4 crore, was uncovered in 11 Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) in the Jajpur district. The State Enforcement Squad first exposed the fraud, regarding which a detailed report was published in a premier vernacular daily June 16, 2022.
Following the squad’s findings, the Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCS) directed the Assistant Registrar of Cooperative Societies (ARCS) in Jajpur May 16, 2022, to submit an action taken report (ATR) within 15 days. However, no action was taken.
Consequently, another directive was issued November 18, 2022, for compliance. Despite the passage of two years and eight months, no concrete step was taken, and the case was seemingly suppressed. However, Sukinda MLA and State Cooperation Minister Pradeep Bal Samanta directed the RCS for an immediate investigation and appropriate action July 24, 2024.
After another seven months of inaction, the RCS, through Letter No. 2954 dated February 17, 2025, directed the senior ARCS to submit an ATR within three days. However, no ATR has yet been filed owing to the ongoing paddy procurement works, senior ARCS Amulya Kumar Sethy said.
The delay in exchanging official communications and the prolonged inaction have raised suspicion over the involvement of high-ranking officials of the department in the scam. According to the investigation report, the State Enforcement Squad visited Jajpur district March 3, 2022, and investigated the paddy procurement activities.
The district’s supply department had enlisted 151 PACSs and SHGs as handling agents for the 2021-22 paddy procurement process. By March 2, 2022, a total of 13,92,091.25 quintals of paddy had been collected through 10 millers.
During the verification, officials conducted a detailed inquiry into paddy collection, dispatch, and stock records. In Dasarathpur block’s Gramanandipur PACS, 28,941.70 quintals of paddy had been procured, while only 25,438.45 quintals had been dispatched to mills, indicating discrepancies. The case continues to raise concerns over administrative accountability and corruption in the cooperative sector.
A vendor receipt was issued for 3,065.25 quintals of paddy, but the actual amount procured from farmers did not match this quantity. Similar irregularities were found in various locations – 3,753.04 quintals in the Chasakhanda PACS of Dasarathpur block, 1,790.30 quintals in Bairi PACS, 816.16 quintals in Samiya PACS of Barchana block, and 1,183.73 quintals in Amathapur PACS of Bari block.
Further investigations revealed additional discrepancies of 1801.05 quintals at Narahari PACS under Binjharpur block, 383.58 quintals in Abhayapur PACS under Dharmasala block, 4,581.28 quintals in Dudhujuri PACS under Sukinda block, 1, 279.50 quintals in Gobardhanpur PACS under Danagadi block, 1,008.24 quintals in Mahavir Shakti SHG and 1,035.21 quintals in Markandapur PACS under Jajpur block.
In total, 20,697.34 quintals of paddy were fraudulently procured using fake vendor receipts. At the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs1,960 per quintal, this amounts to over Rs4 crores.
Based on the investigation, Basanta Kumar Panda, an investigating officer and a civil supplies officer from the state headquarters of the Odisha Civil Supply Corporation in his report recommended the district collector to take legal action against the responsible officials.
Additionally, he proposed barring the nine involved millers and officials from mandi (procurement centre) operations. However, these recommendations were ultimately suppressed.
PNN