After Noida scam, Cong talks of ‘systematic loot’

Continuing its offensive against the Mulayam Singh government in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress today accused it of mishandling the Centre’s food-for-work scheme, the Sampoorna Gramin Rojgar Yojana.

Continuing its offensive against the Mulayam Singh government in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress today accused it of mishandling the Centre’s food-for-work scheme, the Sampoorna Gramin Rojgar Yojana. The party also stood its ground on alleged favouritism in allotment of plots in Noida despite former Chief Justice of India Y K Sabharwal’s protests that his daughter got a plot through a draw of lots.

Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal alleged that foodgrains meant for payment as remuneration to people below the poverty line were diverted to Bangladesh by private firms in several districts of Uttar Pradesh with the help of government officials. He said a “systematic loot” was taking place in the state and the Samajwadi Party government was not even willing to permit the CBI to probe the scam which “runs into crores of rupees”.

Sibal alleged that 90 per cent of the foodgrains given by the Centre were diverted to Nepal and Bangladesh in at least 30 districts, including Gonda, Basti and Biswan, and no action was taken against any officers or private players. “District magistrates of 30 districts wrote to the state government intimating misappropriation of foodgrains in their respective districts. An inquiry revealed misappropriation of foodgrains worth Rs 457 crore in Gonda district alone,” he said.

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Claiming that such diversion could not have taken place without the “active connivance” of high functionaries in the state, he said, “The state government and its officers in conspiracy with private players have deprived the poor people of the state of foodgrains under the SGRY scheme.”

He said though a case related to the multi-crore scam was pending before the Allahabad High Court, the matter has not come up for hearing and sought a CBI inquiry into the issue.

Sibal, who had on Sunday distributed a list of high-profile individuals who were allotted plots in Noida, also rubbished the theory of “draw of lots”. Former Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal had strongly reacted to Sibal’s statement that his daughter was one of the allotees. Sibal said if the draw of lots theory was to true then how was it possible that seven members of Flex Industries, who had given the same address, four Advocate Generals of Uttar Pradesh and only Samajwadi Party MPs and MLAs got plots.