Computer purchase scam rocks Chhattisgarh

Four years ago Rs 20 lakhs were sanctioned to computerise the state’s agriculture department. Today, it is the subject of a huge scam.

By Ajay Sharma, Raipur

Sometimes it is the small slips that reveal the true state of affairs in an administration. That Chhattisgarh is a remote and backward state that has an abundance of mineral wealth and natural resources and is yet afflicted by severe poverty and is reeling under a Naxalite onslaught is no secret. What is frightening however, is the level of ignorance about information technology combined with a cavalier attitude to bureaucratic bungling and corruption that
pervade the State's cabinet and bureaucracy.

A case in point is the decision, taken in 2004-2005, to computerise the State's Agriculture Directorates and District Block offices under central Macro Management Work Plan for which Rs. 20 lakhs had been allocated. In the subsequent four years later the department has ordered computers, faced allegations of gross misappropriation, undergone a probe by an expert committee, had its officers implicated by the committee, cancelled the order of computers and finally subverted government process by getting the Agriculture Minister, Megha Ram Sahu, to ignore the Chief Minister, Dr. Raman Singh's, order to take action against the erring officers committee report. In other words, the department has been very busy doing a lot of things except of course completing the one task that it was supposed to do, i.e. computerising the State's Agriculture Directorates and District Block offices.

In 2004-2005 the agriculture department had purchased 10 computers manufactured by Compaq from M/s Disha Infoway India Pvt. Ltd., Raipur and software CD Writer, laptops, scanners and UPS systems from M/s National Consumer Cooperative Federation Ltd. (NCCF). How the state's 16 Agriculture Directorates were to be computerised and networked with only 10 computers and without any networking infrastructure (leased lines/VPN, servers, etc.) is anybody's guess.

And as is often the case these purchases were made without following the proper procedure or taking permission from NICE and CHIPS. No permission was even obtained from the State's Finance Ministry. On receipt of complaints of gross misappropriation and irregularities, Dr. Pankaj Dwivedi the then Production Commissioner of Agriculture Department constituted an expert committee to probe the purchase.

The committee submitted its report giving details of brazen irregularities in payment of lakhs of rupees on forged bills and documents, open flouting of the rules and regulations of purchase terms. In its report the committee said that six officers were directly involved in the scam and three were indirectly involved. The officers who the committee said were directly involved are: AJV. Prasad, Director Agriculture (an IAS of Himachal Cadre, who is now posted at Dehara Doon.), RK Singh (Additional Director Agriculture), AK Verma (Rural Agriculture Development Officer), RK Swarnakar (ADO), CB Ledhekar (Dy. Director) and NN Shrivastava (Asstt. Director)
Dr. Pankaj Dwivedi submitted his report to the chief minister through the cabinet secretary Mr. RP Bagai with a detailed note on the record, for taking action against the guilty officers. On 29 November 2005 the chief minister gave his approval on the note for taking appropriate action and the guilty officers were to be chargesheeted. In the meantime however, RK Singh cancelled the purchase order for the computers purchase offer to the computer manufactures.

However an amount of Rs six lakhs had already been paid to the manufacturing company by the time. It is learnt that the guilty officers got the bills split in 10 to 12 parts forming new bills to show the legitimacy of the purchases. This also was brought to light during the investigation, which is against the rules and regulation of D.G.S.N.D. The cancellation of the earlier bills after about two and a half years is another blunder.

When the file reached the Agriculture Minister he surprisingly returned the file saying that no action was necessary and the case be closed. Two years later Dr. Pankaj Dwivedi was transferred and Mr. Surgious Minj succeeded him as the Production Commissioner of Agriculture Department. Mr. Minj sent the same file to the minister for reconsideration and in November 2007 the file was returned for the second time with a note that reconsideration was "not necessary".

It is reliably learnt that agriculture minister Mr. Sahu was called by the chief minister and the matter was discussed in secrecy. The Agriculture Minister Mr. Sahu tried to explain to the chief minister
that the computers and software purchase was sanctioned by the Central-State Government Joint venture and subsequently the purchase were cancelled due to poor quality and some other reason whereby the State Government did not lose any money, thus justifying his remarks that it was not necessary to move on the committee report. It is learnt that the file was finally closed on 10th Jan. 2008.

There is no word on whether the State's Agriculture Directorates and District Block offices will be computerised and networked.