What is more reliable - four samples inspected by a minister in passing, or over 200 samples inspected over several hours jointly by experts from the Directorate General of Supply and Disposal (DGS & D), and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)?

Madhya Pradesh Food and Civil Supplies Minister Akhand Pratap Singh thinks he can’t go wrong, so he has ordered another inspection of jute bags that landed at a rail-side godown in Bhopal last week. He is sure that if only BIS experts carry out a third inspection, they will endorse what he found in 10 minutes.

On a tip that the jute bags arriving from Kolkata were sub-standard, Singh, armed with a tape and a weighing scale, had raided the transit godown in Nishatpura on June 6. Of the 19.5 lakh bags packed in 3,900 bales (gathans), he had taken four samples and declared that the specifications of weight, length and width did not meet standards. So, he had not allowed the stock to be moved out.

He had insisted on an inspection by the DGS & D, which functions under the Department of Commerce, and the BIS’s local office. The directorate flew an expert to Bhopal on Saturday and he, along with BIS experts, inspected more than 200 samples. All the while a team of 12 officers from Madhya Pradesh’s Civil Supplies Department was present.

“The team found everything in order and submitted its report to the minister on Sunday,” Additional Director General (Quality Assurance) of DGS & D J K Khanna told The Indian Express over phone from Delhi. He added that the minister had expressed a doubt and they wanted to satisfy him. The samples matched the contract specifications, he said, and it was up to the state Government if it wanted to carry out another inspection.

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