Dimapur, February 14 (MExN): The Nagaland Public Rights Awareness and Action Forum (NPRAAF) today asked the Nagaland State Government to initiate a departmental inquiry into the diversion of Superior Kerosene Oil (SKO) highlighted by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.
The Forum demanded fixing responsibility against erring officials at the earliest, further cautioning that it would initiate its own course of action to give a logical conclusion to the issue if the State Government turns a "blind eye to the issue, considering it as a normal development."
CAG Findings
According to the NPRAAF, the CAG’s report on "Social, Economic, General, and Revenue Sectors" for the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2022, has pointed out that the State Government diverted subsidized SKO valued at Rs 19.56 crore or 6113.19 kilo liters (KL) to the open market.
This is in violation of the Centre’s directives prohibiting the diversion of SKO to the open market instead of distributing it to the targeted beneficiaries under the Public Distribution System (PDS), it said. The report revealed that the misconduct was detected after a thorough examination of both central and state data and was presented in the Assembly recently, the NPRAAF maintained.
Additionally, the Forum stated that the distribution of SKO under the PDS is regulated by the Union Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG), which allocates SKO to states and union territories (UTs) quarterly.
It is mandatory for states to lift their entire allocation within the given quarter, with no carry-forward permitted except in cases of emergencies like natural disasters.
The CAG’s investigation of records from the Food and Civil Supplies (F&CS) Directorate Dimapur in August 2021 revealed that MoPNG had allocated 17,892 KL of SKO to the state during 2019-21, NPRAAF maintained. However, the Department reported lifting only 13,752 KL of SKO from IOCL during the same period, the Forum pointed out.
Upon cross-checking (by CAG) of the Department’s lifting data with data from the Indian Petroleum & Natural Gas Statistics (2019-21) as well as IOCL’s data in July 2022, it was discovered that the State Government had actually lifted 17,367 KL (97.07%) of SKO, resulting in a shortfall of 525 KL during 2019-21, it noted. The Department was found to have understated the SKO lifted from IOCL by 3615 KL (17,367 KL – 13,752 KL), it added, citing the CAG’s report.
Further investigation revealed that the State Government had allocated 4,974 KL of SKO to 51 individuals/distributors, with no available records for the remaining quantity (1139.19 KL), it added. Per the NPRAAF, the CAG report also noted that when these discrepancies were brought to light, the State Government acknowledged in September 2022 that it had lifted 17,367 KL of SKO.
Out of the 12,276 KL allotted for ration cardholders, 11,253.81 KL was lifted, with utilization certificates furnished for 11,233.79 KL. It was also revealed that 4,974 KL was allocated to individuals, the NPRAAF said.
Accordingly, it demanded the initiation of a departmental inquiry into the issue by the State Government. The NPRAAF also expressed disturbance over rampant corruption in almost every department in Nagaland. Government servants, in connivance with contractors and politicians, continue to misuse public benefits programs besides funds sanctioned by the central government without a sense of guilt and accountability, which is appalling, it added.
