Kerala ration rice scam: 345 shops, 110 employees under scanner

Thiruvananthapuram: Examinations conducted by District Supply Officers over the past four years have uncovered a massive fraud in the state’s public distribution system (PDS), revealing large-scale diversion of rice meant for households, including those classified as extremely poor, primarily through 345 ration shops across Kerala.

Of these, licences of 18 shops were permanently cancelled, while 327 others were placed under suspension, according to a response obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

Although serious irregularities were detected in more than a thousand outlets, only 345 faced action. Though the licences of some outlets were revoked, several managed to have them renewed after paying fines.

Inspection teams found that many shops routinely engaged in forgery and short-weighing practices, deliberately under-measuring rice by about 100 gm per kg. In effect, for every 10 kg of rice distributed, nearly one kilogram was being siphoned off.

Officials said the weighing vessels used in most shops weighed between 600 and 700 gm, and in some cases, the weight of the vessel itself was included during measurement.

It was also found that a majority of beneficiaries under the white card category rarely collected their rations from the shops. In such cases, shop owners allegedly visited their homes, recorded their thumb impressions on e-PoS machines, and misappropriated the rice stocks. Some dealers were even found buying rice from families in the priority category at ₹13 per kg and reselling it to middlemen for ₹27 per kg.

The district-wise figures of shops whose licences were suspended for irregularities committed between June 2021 and August 15, 2025, are as follows:

Thiruvananthapuram – 89, Kollam – 53, Thrissur – 7, Pathanamthitta – 35, Malappuram – 34, Alappuzha – 42, Palakkad – 38, Kasaragod – 7, Ernakulam – 27, Wayanad – 9, Kozhikode – 4.

Digital tracking in place
Meanwhile, the office of Civil Supplies Minister GR Anil informed that CCTV surveillance systems have been installed in NFSA godowns to curb irregularities. A digital tracking system has also been introduced to monitor vehicles transporting food grains from these godowns.

The report published in Manorama on the scam refers to the shortfall in rice stock reported across godowns, unearthed during examinations between June 2021 and August 2025. Action has been initiated against officials found guilty of misappropriation. Inspections by District Supply Officers, Special Squads of the Civil Supplies Department, and Supplyco Vigilance teams are ongoing.

110 employees suspended
So far, 110 Supplyco employees have been suspended in connection with irregularities detected in NFSA godowns. In godowns where large-scale misappropriation was identified, three to four employees were suspended from each.

Officials have been instructed that if Supplyco incurs a loss exceeding ₹1 lakh, a complaint must be filed with the police or the Vigilance Department to initiate an inquiry.

However, in the 2021 incident where 50,000 kg of rice went missing from the NFSA godown at Valiyathura, a recommendation by the Vigilance Department — which first investigated the incident — to register a police case was allegedly sabotaged.

The inquiry report warned that the police should trace the missing rice stock and those involved immediately, adding that evidence might be destroyed if there was any delay. Although the depot manager later lodged a complaint at the local police station, he failed to provide a formal statement.

Even a year after the Internal Inspection Wing of Supplyco submitted an audit report assessing a liability of ₹18.49 lakh against officials involved in the Valiyathura case, no further action has been taken. The report had recommended that the amount be recovered from two junior assistants and an assistant salesman employed at the godown.

In another instance, service organisations within Supplyco allegedly sabotaged an Audit Wing recommendation that sought to recover ₹10 lakh from officials responsible for misappropriating rice stocks at the Menamkulam godown in 2019.