New Delhi: In a significant move, the Union Education Ministry has asked the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) for a special audit on implementing the PM Poshan Scheme in West Bengal.
The Ministry has received reports about the alleged misuse of funds in West Bengal under the PM Poshan Scheme.
Sources said that there are deviations in implementing the scheme that has also been reported in the media.
The Education Ministry has requested CAG to audit the Scheme in West Bengal for the last three financial years.
This audit will encompass compliance, performance and financial audit. The Centre has also stated that the Department will take necessary corrective action based on the audit report of CAG.
The Department of School Education and Literacy administers the PM Poshan Scheme through which funds are provided to States based on proposals received from them for one hot cooked meal to eligible children in Classes one to eight and Balvatika.
The PM Poshan Scheme benefits about 11.80 crore children in the country studying in Government and Government-aided schools.
The main aspects of the PM Poshan Scheme include the supply of food grains at the rate of 100 grams per child per school day for primary and 150 grams for upper primary One rupee per kg for coarse grains, Rs 2 per kg for wheat and Rs 3 per kg for rice. The ingredients include pulses, vegetables, cooking oil, other condiments and fuel. The per child per day cooking cost is Rs 4.97 for primary and Rs 7.45 for upper primary w.e.f. April 1, 2020.
West Bengal Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, had written to Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan alleging “misappropriation” of midday meal funds by the Trinamool-led government,
The Centre had recently ordered a ‘joint mission for review’ of the PM-Poshan scheme in the State.
According to the PM-Poshan guidelines, these joint missions were directed to visit eight to ten states annually to review the scheme’s implementation at state, district and school levels on defined parameters.
The Education Ministry also wanted to examine the “fund flow from state to schools” to convening the meetings of district-level committees under the chairmanship of the senior Member of Parliament.
Under the PM-Poshan, most components, including cooking costs, are split in a 60:40 ratio between the Union government and the states and UTs with legislatures, and 90:10 with the Northeastern states, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The cost of food grains is borne entirely by the Centre.
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