No corruption in nutrition scheme, AG audit report not final: MP home miner

The Madhya Pradesh government on Wednesday denied irregularities in implementation of a supplementary nutrition scheme and said the Accountant General’s audit report on the programme was not final and that the number of a vehicle mentioned in it was not regered on the transport department’s “Vahan” portal. The Accountant General’s (AG) audit report on the take home ration (THR) component of the supplementary nutrition programme ‘poshan-aahar’ has kicked up a controversy with the Congress alleging corruption in its implementation. The opposition party, citing the report, has said vehicles mentioned as trucks for transportation of ‘take home ration’ turned out to be motorcycles and cars. Madhya Pradesh home miner Narottam Mishra, who is also the state government’s spokesperson, maintained the audit report was not final. “In the report it was mentioned that poshan-aahar was transported in such vehicles whose regration numbers match with cars, scooters or tractors and are not available on the Vahan portal, which means they are not regered. But the fact is, a regration number, MP 15 AV 3835, is mentioned in the report, while in the department records the number mentioned is MP 15 LA 3835 and this number is also recorded at weigh-bridge and security regers where entries were made,” he told reporters. “Before giving a report to the audit, officials should have taken on record entries made at weigh-bridge and security regers maintained in Sagar drict,” Mishra said. Referring to the audit report finding that eight dricts had received 97,656 MT of poshan-aahar, but in anganwadis (child care centres) only 86,377 MT was transported, and the rest was not found in stocks, Mishra said in the preliminary probe, auditors have taken into account only that poshan-aahar whose bills were paid, but not recorded those whose payments were pending. As this poshan-aahar was transported, it was not mentioned in stocks, said the miner. “Just because bills for transportation were not paid doesn’t mean it (food material) was not transported,” he said. Besides, the auditor had sought factual information in two weeks so that they can take a call on whether or not to include it in the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India) report, he said. “The report in question was not final,” Mishra said. He categorically said there were no irregularities in the poshan-aahar programme and added the state government will give a detailed reply in two weeks’ time on the issue. The Congress on Tuesday cited the AG report to allege corruption in the supplementary nutrition scheme implemented the women and child development (WCD) department wherein vehicles mentioned as trucks turned out to be motorcycles and cars. “As per the report, till 2021, 4.05 MT take home ration (THR) was dributed to 1.35 crore beneficiaries amounting to ₹2393.21 crore. It specifically pointed out that the regration numbers of trucks mentioned in the records of the transport of food material turned out to be motorcycles, cars, autorickshaws, tractors and tankers when checked through the ‘Vahan’ portal of the transport department,” state Congress media department chairman KK Mishra had alleged at a press conference in Bhopal.Comparing the alleged irregularities in the scheme and dribution of ration with the infamous Bihar fodder scam, the Congress demanded the resignation of chief miner Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who heads the WCD department.