A Central government report that has accused the West Bengal government of allegedly over-reporting midday meals worth “more than Rs 100 crore” has triggered a political row in the state, with the Opposition accusing the Mamata Banerjee-led government of corruption and the state administration dismissing the report as “one-sided” and claiming that the views of the state were not taken into account.
This row has come at a time when the Union government and the state are locked in a fight over other Central schemes such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and the PM Awas Yojana (PMAY). The BJP-led Centre has not disbursed funds to the West Bengal government over alleged corruption in these schemes. The TMC has denied the accusations and attributed the Centre’s action to the BJP’s “vendetta politics”.
The TMC government on Wednesday denied the findings of the Joint Review Mission (JRM), which the Ministry of Education set up in January, on the misuse of funds meant for midday meals. The JRM report’s contents were reported by The Indian Express on Tuesday.
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The Centre-state joint review of the implementation of the PM Poshan scheme flagged “great concern” about 16 crore midday meals worth “more than Rs 100 crore” being “over-reported” by the local administration between April and September last year. The JRM also questioned the alleged diversion of the scheme’s funds to pay compensation to fire victims, alleged misallocation of foodgrains, alleged cooking of rice, dal and vegetables up to 70 per cent less than “prescribed quantities”, and alleged usage of expired packets of condiments.
Responding to the accusations, state Education Minister Bratya Basu said on Wednesday, “Our primary response is that the JRM has submitted this report without the signature of the project director of the State Cooked Mid Day Meal Scheme, who was the state government representative in it. What, therefore, is the ‘Joint’ in the JRM, if the report is not even shared with him for his opinion? It’s clear that the views of the state have not been taken into account. We have already submitted a written protest to the JRM chairman, whose response we are yet to receive.”
He also said, “If there is no malafide intent of the central government, why play hide and seek with the report? As far as the press report goes, it contains a lot of data that should first be verified. Also, it has to be seen whether the JRM report reflects the actual facts, and if the state government’s views regarding the alleged discrepancies have been incorporated. Only then can we offer our reactions to it.”
Basu added, “Although the CAG has conducted an audit till 2021-22, we haven’t received its feedback. So, even if we don’t receive a reply from either the GoI or the JRM chairperson, on the non-circulation of the draft report or its publicising without the signature of the state representative, we’ll send our comments with all these details. The state of West Bengal is the largest shareholder in the programme, by daily serving 1.2 crore students out of a total 12 crore students across the country. The CAG is again conducting audits across the state. Let us wait for their report.”
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The minister responded to the allegations on social media and also addressed a press conference to explain the government’s position.
On March 24, the Union Ministry of Education communicated to the state government a list of alleged discrepancies flagged in the JRM report, along with the observation that “wrong reporting about the number of meals served and its financial aspect was a matter of great concern”.
The “serious mismatch” in the number of children availing midday meals, between what has been reported by the state government to the Centre and the figures maintained in the district-level logbooks, is the major thrust of the report prepared by the JRM led by Prof Anuradha Dutta who heads the department of food and nutrition at the GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand.
The report states, “As per the 1st and 2nd Quarterly Progress Reports (QPRs) submitted to the Government of India by the state government, about 140.25 crore meals have been served under PM Poshan scheme during April to September, 2022. However, as per the QPRs submitted by the districts to the state, the number of meals served is about 124.22 crore.”
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On January 5, West Bengal Leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP wrote to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, alleging that funds meant for PM Poshan “granted by the central government, has been systematically diverted unethically by the state government on a regular basis to serve their own interests”. Subsequently, the JRM, which is a component of the PM Poshan guidelines, was set up.
Soon after The Indian Express published the report on Wednesday, Adhikari tweeted, “Told you so! A joint review Mission formed by @EduMinOfIndia, while reviewing the implementation of Midday Meal scheme in WB found that WB Govt over reported 160 million Midday Meals worth rupees 100 crore between April & Sept 2022 by inflating the no. of beneficiaries significantly.”
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He added, “As I have said earlier, @MamataOfficial doesn’t hesitate to steal from students’ plates. Just imagine if they steal rupees 100 crores from 2 quarters of a financial year, how much they have siphoned off in the last 12 years? WB Govt is doing daylight robbery in the name of governance.”
A tweet by Amit Malviya, the national convener of the BJP IT Cell, soon followed. “Corruption is endemic in Mamata Banerjee’s Govt. Her administration didn’t even spare the PM Poshan funds. Joint review between state and Centre found that WB diverted 100 cr for other purposes! Children were underfed. Supplies cut. LoP @SuvenduWB had filed complaint. Corruption is endemic.”
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Alleging irregularities in the use of midday meal funds, Adhikari had tweeted on March 17, “The bankrupt WB Govt has made it a habit of swindling MDM funds as there’s no amount left in The State Emergency & CM’s Relief Fund. @Mamata Official while doing charity for photo op, paid compensation to the victims’ kin, of the Bogtui carnage at Birbhum, from the MDM funds.”
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Since the landslide victory in the 2021 Assembly elections, the TMC government in West Bengal has been mired in a slew of corruption allegations. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have arrested former education minister Partha Chatterjee, his close associate Arpita Mukherjee, and other TMC leaders and education department officials in connection with an alleged scam in the recruitment of primary school teachers, which involved the recovery of over Rs 50 crore in cash from Mukherjee’s house by the ED. Another heavyweight TMC leader, Anubrata Mondal, and his bodyguard Saigal Hossain have also been arrested by the CBI since then, in a case of alleged cattle smuggling.
The Central government has not given MGNREGS funds to the state government since more than a year because of alleged corruption. The TMC government has countered this saying that the Centre’s attitude towards the state government has been influenced by BJP’s loss in the Assembly elections in 2021. Mamata Banerjee held a two-day dharna in Kolkata last month, claiming that her government had yet to receive Rs 1.15 lakh crore of Central funds.
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