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House panel to probe ‘misuse’ of mid-day meal funds in Bihar

Patna: The allegations of misuse of funds meant for mid-day meal schemes in the State will be probed by a House committee, the Speaker of Bihar Assembly said on Tuesday.

“The question and call-attention committee of the House would inquire into the allegations within a specified time-frame,” Speaker Udai Narain Choudhary announced after Opposition members raised a hue and cry over the issue.

Earlier in the day, State Human Resources Development Minister Hari Narain Singh said the government had sought detailed reports from the district authorities about the mid-day meal schemes for schoolchildren.

Replying to a short-notice question by CPI(M) MLA Ramdeo Verma, Singh said stern action will be taken against the guilty persons.

Alleging large-scale ‘irregularities and misuse’ of funds in schools, Opposition members said the turn-out of students were being ‘inflated’ in order to ‘defalcate’ the money earmarked for the project.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar later proposed to hold an all-party meeting to discuss the issue.

Mr. Kumar said he had assigned the job of providing mid-day meals to ‘external agencies’ as it would help the teachers to concentrate on teaching jobs.

On complaints that private coaching institutions are charging ‘exorbitant’ fees from students, the HRD Minister said: “We will not allow this practice to go on for long and are seriously considering proposals for introducing a uniform fee structure for the coaching centres operating in the State.”

He also threatened that stern action would be taken against the teachers of the State-run colleges, if they were found working in coaching institutes during their assigned duties on working days. -- PTI

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