What’s Behind the Rs 2,000 Crore Mid-Day Meal Scheme Scandal in Rajasthan?
Enforcement Directorate Launches Investigation
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is preparing to initiate a money laundering investigation concerning alleged discrepancies amounting to Rs 2,000 crore in the mid-day meal scheme in Rajasthan, which was managed by the previous Congress administration, as reported by official sources on Saturday.
On January 7, the Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) lodged an FIR naming 21 individuals, including several retired officials from the Rajasthan Cooperative Consumer Federation Ltd. (CONFED), along with private entities, under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Indian Penal Code, and the Rajasthan Transparency in Public Procurement Act.
The FIR, spanning 22 pages and reviewed by a news agency, indicates that the investigation stems from a reference made by the ED in 2024 regarding alleged corruption in the distribution of dry ration packets, which included pulses, cooking oil, and spices, to eligible schoolchildren in the state.
According to the ACB FIR, over 3 crore students from classes 1 to 8 received these dry ration packets in five phases from 2020 to 2023, with the Rajasthan government reportedly spending Rs 2,023.91 crore on this initiative.
The ED referred the case to the ACB under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which allows the agency to share information about offenses with law enforcement bodies.
In its communication, the ED asserted that it had uncovered evidence indicating corruption exceeding Rs 2,000 crore related to the mid-day meal scheme's execution in the state during the 2020-2023 period.
Sources revealed that the ED had filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in 2023, but the state police subsequently closed the initial case against the accused, leading to the termination of the PMLA investigation.
Following this, the central agency forwarded its findings to the ACB in 2024, prompting the state agency to file an FIR. A new money laundering case is expected to be registered soon to investigate the alleged scam, seize potential proceeds of crime, and prosecute those involved under anti-money laundering laws.
In response, Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee president Govind Singh Dotasra dismissed the allegations against the former Ashok Gehlot-led government, claiming that the BJP-led state government is fabricating a 'false narrative' to tarnish the reputation of the bureaucracy and distract from its own shortcomings.
The ACB FIR outlines that the entire procurement process for the mid-day meal food packets was marred by delays in decision-making, inflated costs, late deliveries, lack of quality control, and payments made without actual delivery, all allegedly resulting from collusion among officials from the relevant government department, CONFED, and private suppliers, leading to an estimated loss of Rs 2,000 crore to the state treasury.