Twelve crore swindle every year from children nutrition program: Ngos

Shillong, Dec 9: Twelve crore of rupees are swindled by the contractors and manufacturers along with the Social Welfare department every year by supplying substandard, unhealthy food to children under the supplementary nutrition programme of the ICDS through anganwadi centers in violation of the Supreme Court orders.

The large scale ICDS scam has been highlighted by the Civil Society Women Organisation (CSWO) and The Freedom Project, two prominent ngos of Meghalaya. A joint statement released by the two ngos Sunday says,  “The Integrated Child Development Scheme, a flagship program of the Government of India to reduce child malnutrition is in shambles in Meghalaya.”

The ngos alleged that the social welfare department of the Meghalaya government rather than using the Supplementary Nutrition Programme under the ICDS to fight its shockingly high levels of child malnutrition and abysmal maternal health, has been in corrupt collusion with unscrupulous contractors/manufactures, bureaucrats and politicians who have used the programme to siphon off money and supply substandard, unhealthy nutritional supplements to children like precooked instant noodles containing MSG, malted milk product and milk powder.

The statement from the ngos says, “Their actions are in clear violation of the Supreme Court Orders in the Writ Petition (Civil) 196/2001, PUCL v. Union of India and others. The Supreme Court ordered that the children coming to Anganwadi Centres will have to be served Hot Cooked Meals and Take Home Rations shall be provided. The Supreme Court also stated that in order to stop contractors unscrupulously manipulating and profiting from this programme, food items shall be procured using local women’s groups, SHGs etc.”

The NGOs, says, initially the Meghalaya government “reluctantly followed the Supreme Court and engaged local women’s groups, SHGs etc. to procure and supply the food items to AWC”.  But, it alleged, within a year and with active collusion of bureaucrats and politicians, contractors were allowed a backdoor entry in the name of being manufacturers. And all this was done without any public knowledge or public announcement/tender.

The two ngos further said that they not only started supplying precooked instant noodles with MSG called ‘Yummy’ but also unknown brands of biscuits, milk powder and malted food.

“In 2009-2010 on Yummy Instant Noodles which they were not supposed to supply, the department of social welfare spent Rs 8, 02, 82,951.54. More money was additionally spent on milk powder and malted milk product. Meghalaya spends more than 75 % of the 16 crores earmarked annually for the SNP to pay illegal contractors/manufacturers who supply substandard and poisonous food,” the ngos alleged.

“It was only after public outcry and audit remarks that the department of social welfare stopped the supplying of noodles and biscuits. But till date they continue to supply malted food and milk powder, despite of audit observing illegalities in their procurement and which National Institute of Nutrition tests prove are extremely substandard and unhealthy,” the ngos  iterated.- By Our Reporter