BJP attacks Trinamool for Bengal midday meal scam

 With the publication of a Government report claiming that Bengal had “over-reported” serving of around 16 crore midday meals worth over Rs 100 crore between April to September last year, BJP leaders went on overdrive to nail the ruling Trinamool Congress Government for the “scam”.

The Ministry of Education (MoE) had in January constituted the “Joint Review Mission” (JRM) to review the implementation of the Centrally-sponsored scheme PM POSHAN in West Bengal following complaints of irregularities. The panel noted “serious discrepancies in information submitted regarding number of meals served at various levels”.

The panel also questioned the diversion of funds meant for the scheme to pay compensation to fire victims, misallocation of food grains, cooking of rice, dal and vegetables up to 70 per cent less than “prescribed quantities”, and usage of expired packets of condiments.

The Joint Review Mission, which comprised nutrition experts and officers from the Centre and the State government, reviewed the implementation of the scheme, formerly known as the midday meal scheme, in the State and district and school levels for a specified period of time on defined parameters.

BJP’s national vice president and party Lok Sabha member, Dilip Ghosh said that there had been rampant corruption in implementation of the mid-day meal scheme in the State.” He further alleged: “Implementation of every central scheme in the State is tainted with corruption.”

Amit Malviya, BJP IT Cell Incharge and CoIncharge of West Bengal, said: “Corruption is endemic in Mamata Banerjee’s Govt. Her administration didn’t even spare the PM Poshan funds. Joint review between the State and center found that WB diverted 100 cr for other purposes! Children were underfed. Supplies cut.”

An upbeat Suvendu Adhikari, BJP’s Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, 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 Rs 100 Crore between April & Sept 2022 by inflating the no. of beneficiaries significantly. “As I have said earlier, @MamataOfficial doesn’t hesitate to steal from students’ plates. Just imagine if they steal Rs 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.

He retweeted his original tweet of January 5 in which he had written: “One of the biggest ongoing Financial Scam in WB is the systematic misappropriation & diversion of Central Govt’s Mid Day Meal or PM Poshan funds by the State Govt’s Administrative machinery. I have written a letter to Hon’ble @EduMinOfIndia Shri @dpradhanbjp Ji regarding this.”

Bengal’s Education Minister Bratya Basu tweeted that the JRM had submitted its report without even informing the Project Director from the State, who was the State representative on the team, let alone getting his signature on the report… this is another example of a blatant violation of the Centre-State relations that the Central Government does regularly.”

Trinamool Congress State vice-president Jaiprakash Majumdar claimed that sending of such central review teams are actually conspiracies to deprive West Bengal of the legitimate central dues. “Do they want to deprive the school children in the State of their regular meal?” he questioned.

The Joint Review Mission report had said: “According to the first and second Quarterly Progress Reports (QPRs) submitted to the Government of India by the State Government, about 140.25 crore meals had been served under PM Poshan scheme during April to September, 2022. Over-reporting of over 16 crore meals is a serious issue.”

However, as per the QPRs submitted by the districts to the State, the number of meals served was about 124.22 crore. “Thus, there is an over-reporting of over 16 crore meals which is a serious issue. The corresponding material cost works out to be Rs 100 crore,” the report said.

“The State used to claim that more than 95 per cent children availed midday meals on an average basis. However, in all the schools visited, the number of children availing these meals was between 60 to 85 per cent during the period,” it said.

The team had also reviewed the fund flow from State to schools or implementing agencies, coverage of the scheme, management structure at State, district, block levels, delivery mechanism of food grains from State to schools.