The non-governmental organisation Arappor Iyakkam has alleged a scam in the procurement of goods for the Public Distribution System (PDS) in Tamil Nadu which, according to it, has resulted in the loss of around ₹1,500 crore to the exchequer.
In a detailed statement issued on Friday, the organisation said that the tender conditions for supplying sugar, palmolein and dal were altered to favour a particular group of companies and the items were procured at an inflated price than the market price. The organisation has also petitioned the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in this regard.
Citing information it has gathered, the organisation said that the three products were bought at a price as high as ₹28.5 per kg.
According to Arappor Iyakkam, sugar was bought at ₹9.65 per kg higher than the market price, palmolein by ₹17.6 per kg, and dal by ₹28.5 per kg.
It alleged that the favoured company was Christy Group and other companies run by its owners. Though some tenders were awarded to public enterprises like MMTC Limited, State Trading Corporation of India Limited (STC), and Kendriya Bhandar, these companies also ended up supplying the goods through Christy Group and related companies, it claimed.
For all the tenders awarded to the group, the goods were continued to be supplied by the companies that were supplying TNCSC before the ‘scam.’
“The delivery up to the godowns were done by these other companies. Christy Group pocketed money by just doing the billing,” said Jayaram Venkatesan, Convenor, Arappar Iyakkam, in a statement.
