Lok Sabha Question No. 1341 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-02-10
Subject: Corruption in Mid Day Meal Scheme
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1341 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.02.2020

## Corruption in Mid Day Meal Scheme

## †1341.     SHRI RAJIV RANJAN SINGH ALIAS LALAN SINGH:

Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  the  complaints  of  corruption  in  mid-day  meal  scheme  is  being  received  in  large numbers;

(b) whether the school administration is giving sub-standard ration and vegetables to the students which is affecting their health as well as proving to be life threatening in some cases;

(c) whether many cases of false nomination to embezzle money under this scheme have come to light;

(d) if so, the steps taken by the Government to maintain the quality of mid-day meal;

(e) whether the Government has taken stringent action against the persons involved in mid-day meal corruption; and

(f) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRI RAMESH POKHRIYAL 'NISHANK')

(a) to (c):   Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS) is an on-going Centrally-Sponsored Scheme which covers all  school  children  studying  in  Classes  I-VIII  of  Government,  Government-Aided  schools,  Special Training Centres including Madarsas and Maqtabs supported under Samagra Shiksha (SS). The number of children enrolled under MDMS is about 11.59 crore. A total of 33 complaints regarding corruption and 13 complaints regarding poor quality of food in implementation of the Scheme were reported during the last two years and current year. No case of false nomination to embezzle money  has been reported during the last two years and current year under the Scheme.

(d):    The  Government  has  adopted  an  elaborate  monitoring  mechanism at  Central,  State  and  District levels to ensure quality food is served to children under the Scheme.   Further, for effective implementation of the Scheme, the Government of India has also issued guidelines on quality, safety and hygiene to all the States and UTs. These guidelines, inter-alia, provide for instructions to schools to procure Agmark quality and branded items for preparation of mid day meals, tasting of meals by 2-3 adult  members  of  School  Management  Committee  including  at  least  one  teacher  before  serving  to children and to put in place a system of testing of food samples by accredited laboratories. Further, the MDM  Rules,  2015  provide  for  mandatory  testing  of  food  samples  by  Government  recognized laboratories to ensure that the meals meet nutritional standards and quality.

(e) & (f):  The overall responsibility for providing cooked and nutritious mid-day meal to the eligible children lies with State Governments and UTs Administrations. As per Action Taken Reports (ATRs) received  from  States  and  UTs,  action  such  as  issuing  warning  against  the  official  responsible, terminating  the  contract  of  concerned  NGOs  /  Organisations,  initiating  criminal  proceedings  and imposing  penalties  against  the  defaulting  persons/officials/organisations  have  been  taken  by  the concerned  State  Governments  and  UT  Administrations.    As  per  the  Action  Taken  Reports  (ATRs) received from States and UTs, the details of action taken on these complaints are given at Annexure.

Annexure Annexure  referred  to  in  reply  to  part  (e)  &  (f)  of  Lok  Sabha  Unstarred  Question  No.  1341  for 10.02.2020  raised  by  Shri  Rajiv  Ranjan  Singh  Alias  Lalan  Singh,  Hon'ble  MP  regarding Corruption in Mid-Day Meal Scheme Details of action taken on complaints regarding substandard quality of food and corruption under

Mid-Day Meal Scheme during last two years and current year

| Sl. No.   | Type of Action                                                                                                                            | 2018                         | 2018        | 2019                         | 2019        | 2020                        | 2020       | Total   |
|-----------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------|-------------|------------------------------|-------------|-----------------------------|------------|---------|
|           |                                                                                                                                           | Substand ard quality of food | Corru ption | Substan dard quality of food | Corrup tion | Substandard quality of food | Corruption |         |
| 1         | Departmental action (including warning, transfer, suspension) and action against service providers/complaint substantiated by State Govt. | 3                            | 11          | 5                            | 5           | 0                           | 0          | 24      |
| 2         | General corrective action, including issue of instructions to the concerned, by State Govt./GOI.                                          | 0                            | 3           | 1                            | 2           | 0                           | 0          | 6       |
| 3         | Baseless, not proved, not related toMDM                                                                                                   | 3                            | 5           | 1                            | 4           | 0                           | 0          | 13      |
| 4         | Under enquiry/ investigation at state level                                                                                               | 0                            | 0           | 0                            | 3           | 0                           | 0          | 3       |
| 5         | Total                                                                                                                                     | 6                            | 19          | 7                            | 14          | 0                           | 0          | 46      |
| 6         | Overall number of complaints received.                                                                                                    | 25                           | 25          | 21                           | 21          | 0                           | 0          | 46      |