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Nazrul admits diversion of supplied items

By Staff Reporter - 15 Sep 2010 12:00 AM GMT

GUWAHATI, Oct 14 � Conceding a diversion of 15 to 25 per cent of the total items supplied through the Public Distribution System (PDS), Food and Civil Supplies Minister Nazrul Islam today informed that the Government in order to check the leakage has decided to computerise the entire distribution system.

At a press conference here today, the Minister said, �In the existing system, it is impossible to stop the leakage and computerisation seems to be the only solution. We had written to the Centre and the latter has already released Rs 8 crore for computerisation of three districts including Kamrup, Nagaon and Karbi Anglong. The remaining districts would be covered in a phased manner.�

Moreover, dismissing the allegations leveled by the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) on large-scale anomalies in the PDS system, Sarkar sought to clarify that the ORG-MARG and the National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) reports that the regional party is referring to was published in 2005 and 2007 respectively, to which the State Government had already replied.

�The then Chief Secretary and the Supply department in their respective replies had stated that the surveys were not based on facts and figures and misleading as well,� he said.

�The Centre had also called a meeting of all the State Food Ministers where the matter was discussed at length. All the Food Ministers had questioned the credibility of the sample survey report during the meeting,� the Minister pointed out.

He went on to allege that as the Opposition party lacks any concrete issue, it is beating around the bush to mislead the people of the State.

The AGP, it needs mention, had alleged that the two Central Government agencies including ORG-Marg and NCAER had unearthed gross irregularities in the PDS system.