Kalahandi: The Civil Supplies Department has been allegedly supplying substandard rice under the public distribution system to the Matiya panchayat since October. The irate beneficiaries finally decided to return one truck of rice supplied by the department. The villagers alleged that subsidised rice were substandard and infected.
In Matiya panchayat there are 243 BPL, 276 APL, 53 Antodaya and three Annapurna beneficiaries. The food and civil supplies department provides 240 kilogram of rice every month to be distributed among the beneficiaries at subsidised rates
The Kalahandi collector Dukhishyam Satpathy when contacted said that stringent action would be taken against the persons responsible for the irregularities after proper investigation. It should be noted that officers are appointed by the food and civil supplies department to check the quality of rice before it is purchased from the millers. Despite all these measures substandard rice bags were supplied to Matia panchayat.