Explained: How Kupwara Food Grain Misappropriation Occurred: Inquiry Committee Flags Systemic Loopholes and Seeks Stringent Reforms
Kupwara, Oct 26, KNT: The large-scale misappropriation of food grains detected in North Kashmir’s Kupwara district has exposed deep-rooted administrative lapses, weak supervision, and misuse of authority within the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA) Department. A detailed inquiry conducted by the office of the Assistant Director has revealed how procedural violations, unauthorized offline operations, and deliberate concealment of records led to the diversion of large quantities of rations meant for snowbound and border areas.
As per documents reviewed by the news agency Kashmir News Trust, the irregularities originated from the deliberate bypassing of the Supply Chain Management (SCM) portal, the online system meant to ensure transparent tracking of food grain allocations and deliveries. Several consignments were instead processed offline without approval, leading to unverified stock movement and a complete breakdown of accountability. The inquiry established that 12,687.94 quintals of food grains were dispatched offline, while more than 3,500 quintals meant for online sale centres were never received. Investigators said the figures suggest deliberate diversion and misappropriation.
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The inquiry committee observed that delivery orders were routinely ignored, challans were created without authorization, and weigh-check memos were either missing or inconsistent with actual stock records. It also found that the Tehsil Supply Office at FCI Kupwara failed to produce essential registers and allocation logs despite repeated reminders, making reconciliation between dispatch and receipt records impossible.
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Four officials, Waheed Ahmad Bhat, Aleem Nabi Mir, Javaid Ahmad Bhat, and Rafiq Ahmad Dar, have been named for negligence, irregularities, and possible manipulation of records. Show-cause notices issued to them cite unauthorized diversion of food grains, failure to deliver winter dumping stocks, withholding official documents, and poor record maintenance.
The inquiry further revealed major mismatches between Point of Sale (POS) data and physical stock at stores, indicating that the figures on digital portals were not supported by actual inventory on the ground. Officials said this discrepancy reflects both a failure of supervision and intentional concealment of stock movement.
In its recommendations, the Assistant Director has called for a high-level inquiry under senior officers of the Directorate and district administration. The report also urges full digitization of ration movement, central monitoring of supply chains, and mandatory third-party verification for winter and border area distributions. It has also sought disciplinary and legal action against those involved, and an immediate audit of past challans and registers from September 2023 onwards, which were never submitted despite repeated official directives.
Officials in the Directorate of FCS&CA Kashmir said the findings are serious and that strict action will follow once the final inquiry is complete. They assured that corrective reforms will be implemented to ensure transparency and accountability in future ration distribution across the district. [KNT]
