Funds for mid-day meal scheme underutilised: CAG

The government spent Rs. 3,666 crore of the budgeted provision of Rs. 5,466 crore, including the Central government share

The government has utilised only 67 per cent of the funds meant for the Mid Day Meal (MDM) scheme as it spent only Rs. 3,666 crore of the budgeted provision of Rs. 5,466 crore, including the Central government share, even as the number of children availing the scheme was inflated leading to accumulation of rice with the State Civil Supplies Corporation.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report also revealed that the proposals for providing mid-day meal in drought-affected mandals during summer vacations were not made in the annual Budget from 2012-13 to 2014-15 resulting in meals not being provided to children during that period. The report covered the five-year from 2010 to 2015.

As against the requirement of Rs. 1,209.86 crore for preparation and serving of meals projected as serviced from 2010-15, an expenditure of Rs. 940.14 crore was incurred by the State towards cost of food grains and cooking. Inflated figures on children availing the scheme has led to excess requisition of 9,247 MT of rice and its subsequent allocation by the Government of India in three test checked districts – Adilabad, Nalgonda and Warangal alone.

Meals were being prepared in open spaces or dilapidated rooms in the sampled schools, it said, adding that 21 to 81 per cent schools in the test checked districts had no water facility while 66 to 90 per cent had no kitchen-cum-stores. As against the envisaged construction of 30,014 kitchens in two phases, only 5,592 units were completed.

The CAG report also said that no proper mechanism was in place to maintain vital data like the number of children availing the scheme despite the fact that the numbers assume significance in terms of assessment of funds required for food grains, cooking gas among others.

The report said 83 to 94 per cent of children were covered between 2010-15, but the scheme has not shown any positive impact on education indicators with the enrolment in those schools registering a decreasing trend. Dropout rate of students at the elementary level was above 26 per cent during 2010-14. There was also no assessment of improvement of nutritional status of children except conducting general health check-ups.