Khekiye K. Sema IAS (Rtd.)
Upper Forest Colony; Kohima
Fuel adulteration racket is a well entrenched mega multi-crore enterprise that has been going on for decades under wilful indulgences of a non-transparent Department of Food & Civil Supplies in connivance with ruthless cut-throat businessmen. The spectacle of the kingpins still floating around scot-free on bail despite all the rotten physical evidences piled up against them is a stark example of the system that has completely gone off the rail. The unpalatable aspect of this greed dictated recklessness on the part of the Government is the total lack of concern for the common man not only being deprived of essential services like kerosene but additionally causing huge recurring mechanical and financial havoc to all vehicle owners in Nagaland, including every other mechanical equipments that operate on fuel across the board. The simple truth is that government servants attached with vehicles do not feel the pinch of having to repair their vehicles again and again because this expenditure is borne by the government. They therefore have no concern at all or realise the immense hardships that is being caused to private vehicle owners having to repair their 'fuel adulteration' related problems with their hard earned income at regular intervals that also shortens the functional lifespan of their vehicles.
There are certain facts that need to be put on the table and squarely addressed. The Chief Minister of Nagaland is the Minister in-charge of the Department of Food &Civil Supplies. This puts him at the centre of the storm with all the ongoing misappropriation turbulence. It would be awfully difficult to expect him to show ethical decency and accept moral responsibility for all the evidential rot that has already been dug up in his own backyard. Asking him to concede to public demand for calling in an Independent Investigating Agency is like recommending that he commit hara-kiri. The simple fact is that no transaction within his department of Food and Civil Supplies would have been initiated in the absence of his specific instruction...certainly not in the magnitude of 11.90 Cr litres of SK Oil with an estimated value worth Rs.500 Crores as reflected in the local print media. This is as plain a knowledge as God created little apples. The vain argument that SIT is carrying out the investigation is but a sham of the century. Members of SIT are mere government servants and it does not take a rocket scientist to know that they are bound to severely be exposed to upstairs interferences. They will never humanly be able to withstand the load knowing well that their service will be on the line directly or indirectly. Considering that the interest of the rich and powerful, both in the political and bureaucratic arena, is under the scanner it is practically impossible to expect anything legally tangible to emerge from SIT's investigation no matter how determined they may be. Now, consider this fact that the above astronomical amount is related only to one item of supply in F &CS. The question that automatically comes to the fore is: What about other subsidised state quota items like rice, wheat, sugar etc. where similar non-transparent manipulation of Districts allotments are being carried out in paper through syndicated stockists and transporters year after year? If one digs deeper it may not surprise anyone to discover that the NPGs may also have a percentage share in it considering that this daylight robbery has been going on flawlessly for ages.
ACAUT has done a commendable job of digging up the decade old garbage that has been plaguing the people all these years. They need to expand the road map of inquiry into all the other essential commodity items like rice, sugar and wheat quotas being received on a monthly basis in huge quantities meant for the people which are also being misappropriated without doubt. CCoFA being sweet-talked by CM into suspending the 'bandh' and agreeing to a time bound submission of report by SIT was a costly mistake. It is as good as agreeing to allow Hitler to investigate the holocaust.
However, we learn by mistakes and therefore the first round slip should make them more resilient for the next round that is eminently waiting round the corner. Now that the battle line has been drawn, it is important for CCoFA to maintain a focus on the ground reality and ensure that an uncensored copy of SIT report is demanded from the government no matter how watered down it is likely to be.
