Digvijay Singh demands probe in MP salt scam

Bhopal: Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh today demanded a high-level probe into the alleged salt scam involving Madhya Pradesh Civil Supplies Corporation. In a letter to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Digvijay alleged large scale corruption took place in the purchase of ISI-marked iodised salt at an exorbitant rate by manipulation of tender conditions by the state Civil Supplies Corporation.

While Madhya Pradesh purchased the salt last year at Rs 6,700 per tonne, the same quality ISI-marked iodised salt was easily available in neighbouring Gujarat at Rs 3,300 per tonne, Singh said. The same quality salt was purchased by Himachal Pradesh, which is situated four states away from Gujarat, at Rs 5,670 per tonne, while Andhra Pradesh is purchasing it at Rs 5,900 per tonne, he said. "All these figures clearly show that rampant corruption took place in the purchase of iodised salt by the Civil Supplies Corporation," Singh alleged. In 2013-14 also, the Corporation is intending to purchase iodised salt worth Rs 60 crore and for the purpose it has issued a tender with a number of unnecessary conditions to eliminate large number of companies with an intention to favour those with vested interests, he alleged. Singh said, "It is a well-planned conspiracy to siphon off tax payers` hard earned money which is a matter of grave concern." He asked Chouhan to order a high-level probe into the matter and cancel the ongoing process of purchasing iodised salt. He also demanded issuance of fresh tenders for the purchase of iodised salt in the state. PTI