BHOPAL: Performance audit of establishment and functioning of Anganwadis in Madhya Pradesh, by the country’s supreme financial watchdog – the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) – has led to observation of irregularities in the supply of Hot Cooked Meals (HCM).
The audit, which involved the test checking of records of the state’s directorate of Women and Child Development (WCD) department and records of 13 selected districts for the period 2019-20 to 2023-24, led to detection of instances of short, excess or non-supply of HCM, and limited coverage of intended beneficiaries.
According to the audit’s report which was tabled in the MP Vidhan Sabha on Wednesday, the monitoring of the integrated child development services (ICDS) scheme at the district and sub-district levels was found to be deficient. Further, supply of HCM was made by unregistered self-help groups (SHGs) or through ineligible personnel.
In five districts – Mandla, Tikamgarh, Sehore, Alirajpur and Sheopur – three of which were tribal dominated districts, bills submitted by the SHGs for the supply of HCM to Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) for periods ranging from one to six months during 2019-20 to 2023-24, were not found and consequently, the audit couldn’t verify whether the SHGs actually supplies HCM to the affected AWCs or not.
Additionally, food materials used for preparing HCM were not sampled for quality assurance, and record maintenance at the AWC level was incomplete and deficient. Essential records were inadequately maintained by the AWCs and SHGs.
The district program officers (DPOs) of 11 out of the 13 selected districts, didn’t ensure the conduct of social audit during 2019-20 to 2023-24 and there was a shortfall in inspections carried out by them.
The audit also found that 47% or 46,240 of the 97,303 AWCs were operating from buildings owned by other departments, such as schools, panchayat bhawans or rented premises. As many as 130 AWCs lacked essential facilities, including drinking water, toilets and playgrounds. Such deficiencies were particularly observed in AWCs functioning in non-owned or rented buildings.
Scrutiny of records showed that 54 unregistered SHGs were engaged in seven out of the 13 selected districts for HCM distribution.
DPOs of these districts seven districts – Balaghat, Burhanpur, Datia, Mandla, Sehore, Shajapur and Sheopur – didn’t comply with the departmental directions in selection of SHGs and instead selected unregistered groups, who supplied HCMs worth Rs 8.01 crore.
An unregistered group was found to be engaged in transportation work of Take Home Ration (THR), which indicated that the group was a commercial firm rather than an SHG.
While the state women and child development department prescribed that one SHG can provide services to a maximum of 10 AWCs and also stipulated that any contractor, businessman, government employee, etc should not be involved directly/indirectly within the SHG, the joint physical verification (JPV) of SHGs revealed that in 13 SHGs in four districts, had not established kitchens or offices at the addresses listed in their submitted bills to the respective DPOs.
Further, enquiry disclosed alternate addresses where meals were reportedly being prepared. Visits to those locations showed that male workers, not being members of the designated SHGs, were preparing the HCM. Those individuals admitted that they were operating on behalf of the SHGs and receiving Rs 10,000 to Rs 13,000 monthly for their services.
The audit showed evidence of a third party (male contractor) supplying HCM by taking contracts in the name of SHG through a centralized kitchen – meals for one to six SHGs were being prepared in a single kitchen of those four locations.
The CAG audit assessed that the registration of SHGs was exploited to take advantage of the relaxation from the tendering process. This situation highlighted a concerning trend where subsidised grains were being commercially utilized for profit under the guise of SHGs.