‘Bengal used midday meal funds for polls’: Centre seeks report

“I am directed to refer to a copy of the account transfer transcript from the designated Bank Account of Mid day Meal Programme, Paschim Bardhman (Annexure 1). Bare perusal of the fund transfer… suggests that a dormant bank account has been used for transfer of funds for State Elections. It may be agreed that this is contrary to the principles of financial management as distinct Bank accounts are to be used for distinct purposes,” says the ministry’s letter.

This is the most recent intervention by the Union Government, flagging discrepancies in the state’s implementation of the scheme. Earlier this year, the ministry had set up a joint review mission (JRM) to investigate irregularities in West Bengal’s PM POSHAN scheme. The JRM, in its report, had raised concerns over inconsistencies such as over-reporting of over 16 crore midday meals worth “more than Rs 100 crore” by the state government between April-September last year.

The over-reporting of midday meal coverage came up again at a meeting held between state and ministry officials on May 15 this year. In the meeting, West Bengal requested Rs 1,446.73 crore as financial aid to support meals for 1,16,15,992 students. However, the Centre pointed out that the state’s district-level reports indicate that only 84 per cent of the students were covered under the scheme during the academic year of 2022-23. Consequently, West Bengal’s proposal for Rs 1,446.73 crore was revised to Rs 1,267.08 crore. According to sources, the ministry letter on Friday was dispatched after it was tipped off about the state using the PM POSHAN account for the ongoing panchayat elections. “It was brought to our notice that over Rs 1 crore had been transferred from the PM POSHAN account for panchayat elections. So we first asked them for details of the account,” a ministry official told The Indian Express.