The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has served notices on the authorities of the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) to disclose details of procurement from at least half-a-dozen market yards in Karimnagar and Warangal districts during 2004-08.
Officials sources in Karimnagar said the CBI issued notices to CCI authorities involved in lifting of stocks from Karimangar, Jammikunta, Gangadhara, Choppadandi and Vemulawada market yards to furnish details pertaining to purchases from farmers during the said period.
It is alleged that the CCI authorities had denied minimum support price (MSP) to the farmers and encouraged traders and commission agents to procure the produce at less than the MSP and dispose it of to the agency in fictitious names for a commission. The CBI had sought details of all farmers who had sold their stock at market yards, cheques that they received and the extent of their cropped area.
It is alleged that the CCI authorities had colluded with the traders and commission agents and denied MSP to the farmers to the tune of over Rs 20 crore in each marketyard during the period. In Warangal, the CBI has served notices to the Marketing Department seeking details of cotton procurement by CCI at the Enumamula agricultural market in the town from 2004 till date.
The CBI notice sought details such as bidding report, inward and outward records, photostat copies of farmers pass books and amount paid to farmers. The notices were served to Joint Director (Marketing) Ashok. The officer confirmed that they got the notices from CBI in the name of an officer, Praveen Kumar.
