Skip to main content

Govt's 'misleading' figures to Parliament: Corruption free J&K apple procurement?

By Our Representative
Publicised as a measure to ensure better economic development in the newly formed union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and corruption-free procurement, there appears to be little clarity at the highest level on the apples bought J&K growers under the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) that the Central and State/UT level governments claimed to have implemented through the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED).
A senior Right to Information (RTI) activist Venkatesh Nayak of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative said, soon after the legislative changes downgrading J&K from a full-fledged State to a Union Territory (UT) came into effect, i.e. on November 1, 2019, he filed an RTI plea with the Department of Agriculture (DAC) seeking the information about the implementation of the apple MIS in J&K.
While the procurement target was fixed at 13,000 metric tonnes, the delayed reply received by Nayak from DAC on February 28, 2020 said, a total of 1,56,120.470 quintals (7,642 metric tonnes or MT) of apples were bought under the MIS during the 2019-20 season at a cost of Rs 69.55 crore.
It further said, a total of 1,054,169 boxes containing three grades of apples -- Delicious, American and Maharaji – were despatched during this season up to January 30, 2020 from five districts, namely, Anantnag, Srinagar, Sopore, Shopian and Kulgam.
Interestingly, in response to a question raised in the Lok Sabha on February 4, 2020, 24 days before the RTI reply was sent, the Government of India replied that it had purchased 15,769.38MT of apples at a cost of Rs 70.45 crore under the scheme!
Pointing towards the “huge discrepancy” in the figures tabled in Parliament and the reply given under RTI, Nayak said, interestingly, on November 12, 2019, the Government of India provided a figure of 7,940MT of apples were purchased under the MIS, though in February 2020, this came down to 7,642MT under RTI!
Yet another figure of the apple procurement data was given the Supreme Court of India in the Anuradha Bhasin case last year, under which it was claimed by the J&K government that NAFED had procured 8,960MT of apples during the season at a cost of Rs 38 crore under MIS.
“So, the Government of J&K claimed that NAFED had procured more apples than what Parliament was told in November 2019 and at just about 45% less cost than what I was informed in reply to my RTI application”, Nayak said in an email alert to Counterview.
Govt told Parliament it procured  15,769MT apples, but RTI reply says it was 7,642 MT, lower than last year's claim, 7,940MT
“The huge discrepancy in figures, including the cost of procurement, raises several questions about the credibility of claims being made before Parliament, the highest court of the land and under the RTI Act”, Nayak said, adding, “Two of my own contacts in J&K have revealed that many farmers had to watch their apple crop rot away because there were simply no vehicles to pick them up from orchards, thanks to the restrictions on vehicular movement imposed August 2019 onwards.”
“So”, said Nayak, “If the actual figure is in the range of 7,000-8,000 metric tonnes, the actual procurement has fallen way too short of the target of 13,000 metric tonnes set in September 2019, lending credibility to the claims of people in J&K that a large portion of their apple crop might have just rotted away this season.”
“If on the other hand, the figure of 15,769.38MT reported in the Lok Sabha this February is correct, DAC has provided a much lower and misleading figure under the RTI Act”, Nayak said, adding, in the process, what appears to have actually happened is, “the authorities have not only failed the growers in J&K but also the millions of under-nourished and hungry citizens, particularly mothers and children who could have been fed these fruits through the ICDS and mid-day-meal schemes at nominal procurement, transportation and handling cost.”

Comments

TRENDING

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

Central pollution watchdog sees red in Union ministry labelling waste to energy green

By Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran*  “Destructors”, “incinerators” and “waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration” all mean the same thing – indiscriminate burning of garbage! Having a history of about one and a half centuries, WTE incinerators have seen several reboots over the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. 

First-of-its-kind? 'Eco-friendly, low cost' sewage treatment system installed in Gujarat

Counterview Desk Following the installation of the Unconventional Decentralized Multi-Stage Reactor (UDMSR) for sewage treatment, a note on what is claimed to be the  first-of-its-kind technology said, the treated sewage from this system “can be directly utilized for agricultural purposes”, even as proving to be a “saviour in the times of water crisis.”

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Indo-Bangla border: Farmers facing 'illegal obstacles' in harvesting, transporting yields

  Counterview Desk  In a representation to the chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, human rights defender Kirity Roy, who is secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), has said that Border Security Force (BSF) personnel are creating "illegal obstacles" for farmers seeking to harvest their ripened yields and transport them to the market in village Jhaukuthi of Cooch Behar district.

Wasteland, a colonial legacy, being used to 'give away' vast tracts to Ratnagiri refinery

By Fouziya Tehzeeb* William D’Souza, a 55-year old farmer from Kuthethur, Mangalore, was busy mixing cattle feed when we arrived at his doorsteps. Around 25 km from the bustling city of Mangalore, Kuthethur is a lush green village with thick vegetation. On the way to William’s house the idyllic view gets blocked by the flares and smoke arising from the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL).

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview  story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded  reaction  in the form of a  link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

CAA disregards India's inclusive plural ethos, 'betrays' ideals of freedom struggle: PUCL

Counterview Desk    "Outraged" at the move of the Central government to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA 2019) weeks before the election, the top rights group, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), has demanded that the law be repealed. 

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Invincible, Modi 'taller' than BJP, RSS: An opportunity for Congress beyond 2024?

By NS Venkataraman*  With the announcement of poll schedule for the 2024 parliamentary election, there is palpable excitement and expectation amongst the countrymen  about the shape of things to happen in India after the  results of the election would be announced. There is also speculation abroad about the future course of developments in India.