A 36-page report by Madhya Pradesh Accountant General (MPAG) marked as ‘confidential’ that found its way into the public domain earlier this week has alleged massive level of corruption in the Centrally sponsored midday meal and free food scheme meant for children and pregnant and lactating mothers.
MPAG is the state branch of Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).
This report has brought into fore the political shifts that are taking place in the state where the elections are just one year away.
The said report has stated that ‘frauds are being committed without any fear’ in the Women and Child Development (WCD) Department and that ‘large scale fraud/misappropriations in the identification of beneficiaries, production, transportation, distribution and quality control’ in “Take Home Ration” (THR), which is a part of the of the Centrally sponsored Integrated Child Development Services Schemes (ICDS), are taking place.
The Accountant General office examined THR given to around 12 lakh beneficiaries (25 percent of the total beneficiaries in the state) which consisted of 8.37 lakh children, 3.40 lakh pregnant and lactating mother and 0.64 lakhs Out of School Adolescent Girls or OOSAGs aged between 11-14 years. The said document has been signed by Deputy Accountant General (AMG-II), who is listed as Mehul Grover.
The nodal agency for executing this Centrally-sponsored programme in the state is the Women and Child Development (WCD) Department, which has been under the supervision of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan himself since the resignation of BJP leader Imarti Devi in 2020.
According to the auditors, the number of beneficiaries was massively inflated, leading to a fake distribution of Take Home Ration (THR) worth Rs 111 crore. The officials who were responsible for producing the THR showed an ‘impossible’ level of production which was ‘fake’ and cost Rs 58 crore to the central government.
Six production plants showed a supply of THR worth Rs 4.95 crore despite having no stock. Another six THR plants stated that they had transported THR by using trucks and issued a receipt of Rs 6.94 crore. The auditors found that the registered number of the trucks belonged to cars, autos and motor bikes.
Rs 63 crore of THR was misappropriated by officials rather than giving it to the beneficiaries, the audit has found. In other places, despite not receiving the THR, payment was made to them.
Significantly, 38300 MT of THR valued at Rs 237 crore did not conform to the nutritional value it was expected to match thereby clearly indicating illegal collusion between the government officials and the supplier of THR. In other government godowns, the auditor found thousands of THR packets lying unused despite records showing that they have been distributed.
During the audit, it was found that at 49 Anganwadi centres in eight districts, only three girls were registered. However, in the same 49 centres, the WCD department listed 63748 girls and claimed that it had helped 29104 of them during 2018-21.