The seizure of one lakh bags of rice meant for Meghalaya that is suspected by Assam police of being siphoned from a nutritional scheme has revealed the “persistence of corruption” in this state, Thma U Rangli-Juki (TUR) said today.
Continental Milkose, the company that is alleged to have been repackaging Meghalaya’s rice, but which the Social Welfare Directorate says is an approved company that fortifies grain for Meghalaya’s Anganwadi centres was named in another case of irregularity in the supply of food items under the Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP) in 2012.
“Why is this tainted company being used again by the government for this crucial programme which feeds children, young girls and mothers and is key to fighting malnutrition and maternal and infant mortality, which is very high in Meghalaya?” TUR said in a release.
The SNP is supposed to be a decentralised and local effort, TUR explained, and food supplied under the scheme should be purchased at the local level.
“But SNP, in Meghalaya, has long been under the vicious control of dubious fortified food suppliers like Continental Milkose,” it added, describing the presence of “tainted” suppliers as “the real issue”.
Meanwhile, the Civil Society Women’s Organisation demanded that the state government file an FIR immediately as it is a case of “clear theft and corruption”.
