Poor Quality Gunny Bags; Punsup Under Lens

When the wheat-procurement period is scheduled, the jute bags provided for packing the grains are short in both number and superiority

Punjab state civil supplies corporation (Punsup), a key wheat-procurement organization, allegedly has been cheating arhityas (commission agents). Regulations want it to provide standard-size jute bags to arhityas to pack wheat in; but crosswise grain markets in the city of Patiala, 50 to 70 jute bags are absent from each bunch of 500.

Ultimately, the packaged wheat is delivered to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for the national pool. In Patiala only, about each of the 139 bundles of jute bags that Punjab state civil supplies corporation has delivered, thus far, is short of multiple bags. In the gigantic grain markets of Nabha, Rajpura, and Samana too, the tale is similar.

“In Nabha,” stated arhitya association president Ishe Singh Mann, “over 30 bags are absent from each pack.”

Even the quality of the jute bags coming in from Punjab state civil supplies corporation is substandard.

Harjit Singh Sheru, president of the arhitya association of new grain market in Patiala stated, “First, the Punsup functionaries refused playing a trick on us but when we calculated the bundles before them, they had no words.”

Every jute bag is valued at Rs. 30 and if 50 are absent from every bundle, it signifies a scam of Rs. 1,500 for every bundle. In the city of Patiala last year, Punjab state civil supplies corporation (Punsup) procured wheat in over 35.64 lakh bags (7,129 bundles). By that old measure, the existing scandal would be worth over Rs. 1.06 crore in Patiala only by the end of this period. This time, owing to the bumper crop, the volume of procurement is expected to boost.