Shillong, Dec. 9: A group of NGOs today said independent tests prove that the Meghalaya social welfare department and its contractors/manufacturers garner an average of Rs 12 crore per year through the supply of substandard food to children under the supplementary nutrition programme of the integrated child development scheme.

The Civil Society Women's Organisation and the Freedom Project said the scheme, a flagship programme of the Centre to reduce child malnutrition, is in a shambles in Meghalaya.

"The social welfare department, rather than using the programme to fight high levels of child malnutrition and abysmal maternal health, has been in collusion with unscrupulous contractors/manufacturers, bureaucrats and politicians. They have used the programme to siphon off money and supply substandard, unhealthy nutritional supplements to children like pre-cooked instant noodles containing monosodium glutamate (MSG), malted milk product and milk powder," the NGOs represented by Agnes Kharshiing and Angela Rangad said.

They said these actions are in clear violation of the Supreme Court orders in the writ petition (civil) 196/2001, PUCL vs 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 also be provided.

It also stated that in order to stop contractors from profiting from this programme, food items shall be procured using local women's groups, self-help groups and others.

"Initially, the state government followed the Supreme Court orders and engaged local women's groups and self-help groups to procure and supply the food items to the centres. But within a year, contractors were allowed a backdoor entry in the name of being manufacturers," the NGOs alleged.

They also alleged that all this was done without any public knowledge or public announcement/tender.

"They not only started supplying pre-cooked instant noodles with MSG but also unknown brands of biscuits, milk powder and malted food," the NGOs added.

In 2009-2010, the social welfare department spent Rs 8 crore on a brand of instant noodles, which they were not supposed to supply, they alleged.

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Study reveals graft in child nutrition scheme