CPI Alleges Fresh Work, Payments to 14 Blacklisted Firms in Jharkhand

The Communist Party of India (CPI) has approached the Centre with a complaint alleging irregularities in the functioning of the Jharkhand Agriculture Directorate and sought a high-level probe into the matter.

CPI state executive member and Ranchi district secretary Ajay Kumar Singh met Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ministry official Yogesh A. Raundal in New Delhi on Saturday and submitted a written complaint seeking an investigation into the functioning of the directorate.

According to the complaint, the Agriculture Directorate had blacklisted 14 companies in 2023 over alleged serious irregularities. The firms were later removed from the blacklist subject to certain conditions. The CPI has alleged that the companies did not fully comply with the conditions imposed for their delisting.

The complaint said the firms were required to have equipment installed at farmers' sites, which was allegedly found to be defective or of substandard quality, re-examined. As part of the process, the batch numbers of the equipment were to be changed before testing by the Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and Technology (CIPET), with the test reports subsequently submitted to the Agriculture Director.

The CPI has claimed that the required test reports have not yet been submitted to the Agriculture Directorate. Despite this, the party has questioned the decision to award fresh work to the companies and release payments running into crores of rupees.

The complaint also referred to an order issued by the then Agriculture Director on March 18, 2024. According to the CPI, the order directed that work orders to the companies be kept on hold until the test reports were received and also referred to registration of an FIR on the basis of a report from the Hazaribag Deputy Commissioner.

The party, however, alleged that no concrete action has been taken in the matter so far.

The CPI has also raised specific questions over Bharat Drip Irrigation and Agro Company, alleging that it received a substantial number of work orders and payments despite having been blacklisted. The party has sought disclosure of details of all works carried out by the company in Jharkhand and an investigation into them.

The CPI has demanded the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the entire matter. It has also sought an immediate halt to all payments and fresh work orders involving the 14 companies, a high-level investigation and scrutiny of government grants released under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY).

The next steps by the Centre and the Jharkhand government following the complaint will be closely watched. The Agriculture Department and the companies named in the complaint have not yet issued an official response to the allegations.