ACAUT Nagaland has urged the Lokayukta to register a suo moto case and investigate the Tide-Over Rice scam amounting to Rs 952 crore, failing which it warned of seeking legal recourse.
In a statement, ACAUT said it was in possession of documents pointing to the fact that misappropriation/siphoning of rice under the Tide-Over Scheme had been taking place under the Food & Civil Supplies Department from 2018 to date.
Initiated by the Central government in 2018, ACAUT mentioned that the state received 3872.72 MT of rice every month under the scheme for distribution at Rs 8.30 per kg. Yet, most surprisingly, the group claimed that it found that there were nil beneficiaries in the state.
According to the group, 3,17,563 MT or 31 lakh kg approximately of Tide-Over rice had been received by the state to date from the Food Corporation of India in the last seven years. ACAUT stated that it was believed that this rice had been and was being siphoned, and sold off in the open market.
As per its own investigation, the group claimed that there was enough proof that all the fancy rice brands being sold in the market — purportedly imported from different states in India — nothing but repackaged and polished Tide-Over rice meant for Nagaland.
Pointing out that the only rice being imported into the state was the Basmati variety, the group said it was amply clear that the gullible public was being fooled into buying their own subsidised rations at exorbitant prices.
ACAUT stated that if the open market price of rice at the minimal rate of Rs 30 per kg was calculated, the total scam stood at a colossal Rs 952 crore. The group maintained that the scam was not possible without the green signal of the government at the highest level.