West Bengal govt used mid-day meal funds for polls; Centre seeks report from state

Kolkata, Jul 8: Ministry of Education on Friday wrote to the West Bengal government, flagging "financial anomalies" in the implementation of the mid-day meal scheme. The ministry in its letter said that funds earmarked for mid-day meal scheme (PM POSHAN) are being used for a different purpose.

Sources of the Education Ministry, on the condition of anonymity, told media that a dormant Bank account has been used for the transfer of funds for state elections. "Senior officer of the ministry has sought a report from the West Bengal government. I am directed to refer to a copy of the account transfer transcript from the designated bank account of the mid-day meal programme, Paschim Bardhman. A bare perusal of the fund transfer suggests that funds earmarked for Mid-Day Meal under PM POSHAN are being used for a different purpose," they said.

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They further said that, however, the papers made available on WhatsApp by the state officials suggest that a dormant bank account has been used to transfer 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," the official letter to the education department of WB read. Ministry of Education sources further told ANI that the ministry said that it is a possibility that allotments under PMPY in the past i.e., pre-PFMS days, are being used for purposes other than the PM POSHAN (Mid-Day Meal) scheme.

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The Central government, in its letter to the WB government, said, "In this context, it may be appreciated that in January 2022 at the time of submission of proposal for release of 2nd installment during 2021-22, the state government of West Bengal had submitted an undertaking certifying that Government of West Bengal has notified the Single Nodal Agency (SNA) and opened a Single Nodal Account of PM Poshan Scheme. It was also certified that the entire unspent amount available in the Bank account of all the implementing agencies of the aforesaid scheme has been transferred to the Single Nodal Account of the Scheme concerned. It was further certified that all other accounts of implementing agencies down the ladder have been closed/converted into zero balance accounts."