Kolkata, Feb 9,2023: A special team of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) will visit West Bengal to review the statements of expenses by the state government on account of the midday meal scheme in the state.

The CAG team will be coming to the state following a request from the Union ministry of education on this count. The CAG team’s review on this count will follow the recent visit of a special inspection team from the Union education ministry to review the implementation of the midday meal scheme in the state.

It is perceived that the decision to ask CAG to review the statement of expenses under the scheme in West Bengal is prompted by some adverse findings by the Central inspection teams during their course of field inspection.

In fact, the Central field inspection team during the course of field inspection raised questions on the proportion of students to per day quantity usage of foodgrain and vegetables used in midday meal preparation in certain state-run schools. Besides representatives from the Union education ministry, the inspection team also had nutrition experts and representatives from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Veteran from the state government said that this is the first time in its history that a CAG team will conduct a special investigation on the statements of accounts in the midday meal in the state.

In the request to CAG, the Union ministry of education has stated that the review of the statement of expenses under this scheme has become necessary in view of the serious allegations of misuse of funds in the state under this scheme for the last three years. The audit by the CAG will encompass, performance and financial audit.

The state leadership of BJP has welcomed this special audit by CAG and said that they had been complaining about the misuse of the Central funds under this scheme for a long time. The Trinamool Congress, on the other hand, has described this development as a reflection of vendetta politics isolating West Bengal.