Fodder Scam

The Fodder Scam involved hundreds of millions of dollars in alleged fraudulent reimbursements from the treasury of Bihar state for fodder, medicines and husbandry supplies for non-existent livestock.
Lalu Prasad Yadav, on the left, is the highest-profile person convicted in the fodder scam.

The Fodder Scam was a corruption scandal that involved the embezzlement of about ₹940 crore (equivalent to ₹48 billion or US$570 million in 2023) from the government treasury of the north Indian state of Bihar.[1] Among those implicated in the theft and arrested were then Chief Minister of Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav,[2] as well as former Chief Minister, Jagannath Mishra.[3][4] The scandal led to the end of Lalu's reign as Chief Minister.[5] Dineshwar Prasad Sharma is also alleged to have received ₹300.60 crore from S. N. Sinha. On 23 December 2017, Lalu Prasad Yadav was convicted by a special CBI court while Jagannath Misra was acquitted.[6]

The theft spanned many years, and allegedly involved numerous administrative and elected officials of Bihar State across multiple administrations of the Indian National Congress and the Janata Dal parties. The corruption scheme involved the fabrication of "vast herds of fictitious livestock" for which fodder, medicines and animal husbandry equipment was supposedly procured.[1][7] Although the scandal broke in 1996, the theft had been in progress, and increased in size, for over two decades.[8] Besides the magnitude and duration of the theft, the scam was and continues to be covered in Indian media due to the extensive nexus between tenured bureaucrats, elected politicians and businesspeople that it revealed,[9] and as an example of the Mafia Raj that has penetrated several state-run economic sectors in the country.

As of May 2013, the trial was completed in 44 cases out of a total of 53 cases.[10] More than 500 accused have been convicted and awarded punishments by various courts.[11]

  1. ^ a b 'Fodder Scam' Could Bring Down a Shaky Indian Government, The New York Times, 1997-07-02. Accessed 2008-10-29. "... the scandal, said to involve $285 million, occurred in one of the country's poorest regions, the eastern state of Bihar. The money, which is reported to have been stolen over nearly 20 years, came from agricultural support programs aimed mainly at helping the 350 million Indians who live in extreme poverty ..."
  2. ^ "How the fodder scam has proved to be Lalu Prasad's Waterloo".
  3. ^ "Fodder scam: Charges framed against Lalu", Outlook India, 17 May 2005, archived from the original on 18 April 2009, retrieved 4 November 2008, Snippet: ... The CBI has filed chargesheets in sixty cases, of which 53 are being tried in the courts at Ranchi and seven in Patna ...
  4. ^ "Jail for Bihar politician", BBC, 7 June 2000, retrieved 5 November 2008, Snippet: ... Former chief minister of the northern state of Bihar, Jagannath Mishra, has been remanded in judicial custody in a multi-million dollar fodder scam ...
  5. ^ "What is the fodder scam: A look at what all has happened since 1996". 8 May 2017.
  6. ^ "fodder scam verdict: Lalu Prasad convicted in second fodder scam case; RJD to appeal in HC - The Economic Times". economictimes.indiatimes.com. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017.
  7. ^ Lok Sabha, "Lok Sabha Debates, ser.11 Aug 26–30 1997 v.17 no.18-23", Lok Sabha Secretariat, Lok Sabha (House of the People), Parliament of India, 1999. Snippet: ... The leakages are such that no benefit is accruing to the intended beneficiaries. There is a lot of corruption, not only under this Government's rule, but it has been there for quite a long time. But of late, because of the financial problem, corruption has increased appallingly. There is also the Letter of Credit scandal which is a kind of a younger sister of the chara-ghotala of Bihar. This scandal also relates to the Animal Husbandry Department, but the CBI is dragging its feet ...
  8. ^ Stifling dissent: PM’s lost kavach, The Tribune, 2002-01-22. Accessed 2008-10-31. "... Laloo has never been the kingpin but was one of the main beneficiaries of the fake purchase and distribution of the non-existent fodder for about two decades ..."
  9. ^ क्या है चारा घोटाला? What is the fodder scam?, BBC, 2001-12-14. Accessed 2008-10-29. "... सीबीआई के अनुसार, राज्य के ख़ज़ाने से पैसा कुछ इस तरह निकाला गया- पशुपालन विभाग के अधिकारियों ने चारे, पशुओं की दवा आदि की सप्लाई के मद में करोड़ों रूपए के फ़र्जी बिल कोषागारों से वर्षों तक नियमित रूप से भुनाए. (According to the CBI, animal husbandry officials pilfered crores of rupees from the state treasury by filing bogus expense reports for fodder, medicines and other animal supplies) ... सीबीआई का कहना रहा है कि ये सामान्य आर्थिक भ्रष्टाचार का नहीं बल्कि व्यापक षड्यंत्र का मामला है जिसमें राज्य के कर्मचारी, नेता और व्यापारी वर्ग समान रूप से भागीदार है. मामला सिर्फ़ राष्ट्रीय जनता दल तक सीमित नहीं रहा. इस सिलसिले में बिहार के एक और पूर्व मुख्यमंत्री डॉक्टर जगन्नाथ मिश्र को गिरफ़्तार किया गया. राज्य के कई और मंत्री भी गिरफ़्तार किए गए. ... (This is not a normal case of economic corruption, says the CBI, but rather a pervasive conspiracy to steal in which state bureaucrats, elected leaders, and businesspeople were equal accomplices. Culpability is not limited to the Rashtriya Janata Dal party. A prior chief minister of Bihar, Dr. Jagannath Mishra, has also been arrested as have other state ministers.) ..."
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ex-MP, former Bihar MLA among 10 people convicted in fodder scam was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Former RJD MP RK Rana convicted in multi-crore fodder scam was invoked but never defined (see the help page).