The Chhattisgarh Assembly witnessed fiery exchanges on Thursday as BJP MLA Sushant Shukla (Beltara) accused state Food Minister Dayaldas Baghel of evading accountability in a ₹50 crore rice allocation scam, alleging collusion between officials and private entities to siphon subsidised grains. The controversy centres on the fraudulent conversion of Above Poverty Line (APL) ration cards to Below Poverty Line (BPL) status — a scheme that diverted rice meant for the poor, triggering demands for an independent probe amid claims of evidence tampering and bureaucratic complicity.
The scam, unearthed in Bilaspur’s Public Distribution System (PDS), reportedly involved the illegal reclassification of 1,355 APL ration cards as BPL over two years, allowing thousands of quintals of subsidised rice to be funnelled into ghost accounts linked to rice millers. Investigations revealed that legitimate beneficiaries were unaware their cards had been altered, with their entitlements redirected through fake nominees using forged Aadhaar details.
At the core of the fraud was the misuse of a government-issued ID (RC 8841), which can only be generated with a Food Officer’s authorisation. Insiders confirmed that biometric authentication was bypassed, enabling the rice to be illicitly withdrawn, repackaged by rice millers, and resold to the government, forming a fraudulent cycle that cost the state crores.
During the stormy session, Shukla accused Minister Baghel of “misleading the House” and questioned why officials were shielding those responsible. He pointed to media reports alleging that 1,300 suspect ration cards were deactivated overnight after the scam surfaced, with records tied to an ID registered in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district. “This could not have happened without high-level collusion,” Shukla said, demanding an independent probe.
Speaker Dr. Raman Singh intervened, instructing a “neutral team” to conduct a fresh inquiry after Shukla dismissed the credibility of an earlier investigation by a Raipur-based team. The previous probe failed to trace the origin of ID RC 8841 or interrogate Food Controller Anurag Bhadouria, whose login credentials were allegedly used to authorise the fraudulent transactions.
The scam has once again exposed systemic loopholes in Chhattisgarh’s PDS. Shukla further accused the state government of repeating mistakes from the previous Congress regime, referencing an older case where over 50 fake ration cards were created under the National Food Security Act to siphon off grains. “Documents show 57 cards were fabricated without verification,” Shukla said, alleging that officials “erased digital records” to shield those implicated.
With 1,355 ration cards abruptly cancelled and no efforts yet to recover the stolen rice or prosecute those involved, opposition leaders and civil society groups are calling for transparency. The scam has reignited concerns about corruption in welfare schemes in Chhattisgarh, where a significant population relies on subsidised food grains and continues to battle recurring scandals in its grain distribution network. While the state government faces mounting pressure, all eyes are now on the upcoming probe’s findings and whether accountability will extend beyond low-level officials.