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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
\"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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
\"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. <\/p>\n
They also alleged that all this was done without any public knowledge or public announcement\/tender. <\/p>\n
\"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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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See the article here: Shillong, Dec. Continue reading
\nStudy reveals graft in child nutrition scheme<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"