Many would remember the iconic hindi movie Nayak starring Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor. The most vivid memory of the film, released in 2001, is how Anil Kapoor, who became the Chief Minister of the state while challenging the CM in an interview, dealt with corruption by disguising as a common man. A similar stint was seen in Andhra Pradesh’s Vijayawada recently when IAS officer G Surya Praveenchand disguised himself as a farmer to nab the culprits involved in black marketing of items belonging to farmers.
Mr Surya Praveenchand, who is currently posted as Deputy Collector and SDM of Vijayawada, was constantly receiving complaints of black marketing in the sale of fertilizers like urea and DAP (Diammonium Phosphate). To find out the veracity of these allegations, Praveenchand disguised himself as a farmer and went to the shops of prominent Mandals like Kaikaluru and Mudinepalli, to purchase fertilizers.
HOW AN IAS DISGUISED AS A FARMER
Mr Praveenchand, a 2019 batch IAS officer, while talking to Indian Masterminds said, “When the complaints reached us, we decided that we should stand with the farmers. I disguised myself as a farmer to buy manure. One shopkeeper even refused to give me manure, while another was selling manure at a price which was higher than the MRP. Both were giving fertilizers without taking Aadhar card numbers from farmers (a mandatory requirement) and were not even making any bills. They were working by making a receipt on a blank paper instead of a printed bill with a stamp. While as per the ‘Fertilizer Control Order’, manure cannot be sold without Aadhar card which requires an Aadhaar number verification. This also indicated that they must be hoarding too.”
On the other hand, some shopkeepers ran away after closing the shop before Mr Praveenchand arrived for investigation, detecting many irregularities there.
WHAT SHOULD BE THE PRICE?
Mr Praveenchand says that the MRP price of Urea is Rs 266.50 per bag while the DAP should be sold at Rs 1200 per bag. But these shopkeepers are selling urea for Rs 280 to Rs 300 and DAP at Rs 1250 or more. During his surprise inspection, the shopkeepers who had been found guilty were taken into custody and legal actions initiated against them.
Mr Praveenchand told Indian Masterminds, “We didn’t want to target specific shopkeepers. These shops came under the scanner by chance and the black marketers were caught red handed. But we definitely want to send a message to all those farmers who are being cheated in this process. They should get what they deserve. If such irregularities are found again, strict action will be taken.”
Pictures of the IAS immediately went viral on social media, where he is seen disguising as a farmer and going on a motorcycle to buy manure.
WHO IS IAS OFFICER PRAVEENCHAND?
Mr. Praveenchand is a 2019 batch IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre. He cleared UPSC-2018 exam with AIR ranking of 64. This was his third attempt. Earlier, he also cleared the All India Service with AIR 512 in UPSC-2017, in which he got the Indian Information Service (IIS). An alumni of IIT Patna, he used to work in the private sector before coming into civil services.
