The Ministry of Education has ordered a ‘special audit’ by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of the PM Poshan scheme following allegations of misuse of funds in West Bengal.
CAG has been asked to conduct an audit into the expenditure under the scheme for the last years, the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry had received reports of “instances of deviations in implementation of the scheme”, it said.
The official statement also said that necessary corrective action will be taken by the department based on CAG’s audit report which will include a “compliance, performance and financial” review.
PM Poshan scheme, an initiative of the Ministry of Education, provides food to children studying in government and government-aided schools.
Under the scheme, funds are provided to the states, based on proposals received from them, for one hot cooked meal to eligible students of classes I to VIII and Balvatika.
About 11.80 crore children studying in 11.20 lakh government/government-aided schools get the benefit of the PM Poshan scheme in the country.
The Ministry of Education serves as the nodal agency for the scheme implementation.