AAP’S PHOOLKA ALLEGES SCAM IN DISTRIBUTION OF WHEAT IN STATE
CHANDIGARH: Aam Aadmi Party leader HS Phoolka on Wednesday alleged a major scam in distribution of wheat to 1.42 crore beneficiaries under the atta-dal scheme in the state.
Phoolka, who is MLA from Dakha assembly constituency, said poor people are being shortchanged and given less wheat than their entitlement. “The beneficiaries are entitled to 30 kg of wheat per person twice a year, but an organised racket is being run by some food inspectors to siphon off three to four kilograms wheat from each bag,” he alleged at a press conference.
The AAP leader said that his team found a group of people who were taking out wheat from the bags in a warehouse at Mullanpur in Dakha on Tuesday.
“Their modus operandi is that they take out a few kgs of wheat from the bags and pour water on it to compensate for loss of weight in each bag. I informed the LudhianaDC. Thenhe,along with DSP and tehsildar, raided the premises,” said the former leader of Opposition.
He said the raiding team caught red-headed 11 persons who stated they were indulging in this activity at different places in cahoots with food inspectors.
“This is a statewide scam of ₹100 crore and has been on for sometime.Andtheremighteven be a link to ₹31,000-cr food scam,” he said, demanding immediate inspection of all godowns in the state. He also urged the government to install CCTV cameras at all such facilities.