Guwahati: The Food Corporation of India (FCI) is under fire for allegations of ‘biased retirements’ and ‘failure to act against corrupt’ officials.
Sources said that the FCI has been slow to act against corrupt officials, even when there is clear evidence of wrongdoing.
The FCI has recently ‘retired’ ten senior officials from the Patiala division in the Punjab region and five officials from the Jammu division prior to their scheduled retirement, marking another wave of dismissals.
In a similar incident back in May, at least twelve high-ranking officials were also prematurely “retired” from their positions.
According to sources, the “retired” officers from the Patiala division were managers working at the public sector undertaking (PSU) level.
Reports suggest that the FCI made the decision to terminate these officials ahead of schedule following an unofficial directive from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution, which aimed to remove non-performing assets within the PSU.
However, allegations have surfaced that the FCI authorities displayed bias and targeted competent officers due to personal grudges.
“Several capable officials have been removed due to personal animosity among the higher-ranking officials,” stated an FCI official who requested anonymity.
Interestingly, no action has been taken against the top officials who were previously implicated in a corruption case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in January of this year.
The CBI initiated a probe against more than 50 FCI officials, including Executive Director (Headquarters) Sudeep Singh, who were allegedly involved in a criminal conspiracy favoring private rice millers and grain merchants in Punjab.
The investigation was prompted by multiple complaints regarding a nexus operating in Punjab, where private rice millers and grain merchants were accused of offering bribes to FCI officials.
These bribes were allegedly given to secure advantages related to the procurement of low-quality foodgrains, misconduct in day-to-day operations such as unloading foodgrains, and the handling of inquiries into various malpractices.
Under ‘Operation Kanak-1 and 2,’ the CBI conducted raids at over 30 locations in Punjab and Delhi, targeting FCI officials, rice millers, and grain merchants.
The residences of FCI Executive Director Sudeep Singh, FCI General Manager Hemant Kumar Jain, FCI Assistant General Manager Sukant Kumar Jena, and several other officials were among those searched by the CBI.
However, despite facing serious charges, these officials have not been subjected to any disciplinary action or termination.