Ruckus in Orissa Assembly over dal scam (file picture)

Cuttack, July 19: Investigation by the Orissa vigilance has confirmed that “students and poor children were cheated” by supplying sub-standard dal to schools under the mid-day meal scheme and anganwadi centres under the supplementary nutrition programme in at least five districts of the state.

An alleged dal scam involving purchase and distribution of substandard dal under the meal scheme and the nutrition programme rocked Orissa in January and led to the resignation of Pramila Mallick as the women and child welfare minister. The Orissa government had subsequently ordered a vigilance inquiry.

In a status report submitted today in Orissa High Court, the vigilance said analysis of samples at the State Drug Management Unit (SDMU) had revealed supply of dal “of poor quality due to presence of mould growth” in Musamari Prathamika Bidyalaya and Musamari Anganwadi Centre under Rasagobindapur in Mayurbhanj district.

Similarly, test reports on samples collected from Sadakpur Primary School of Jajpur district had revealed that the supplied dal had been “relatively poor due to presence of insects”, superintendent of police (vigilance cell) Sashi Bhusan Mishra said in a affidavit.

Five cases have so far been registered against 34 persons for involvement in supply of substandard dal in Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Jajpur, Ganjam and Deogarh districts for deriving pecuniary benefits to the tune of Rs 19,62,20,607.

“As per the high court orders, all the accused persons have been arrested and released on bail by the investigating officer. Probe into all the cases is in progress,” Mishra said in his affidavit.

According to the status report, the 34 accused, apart from the suppliers, included one deputy collector, five district social welfare officers, two branch managers of the Orissa Consumer Cooperative Federation and one branch manager of the National Consumer Cooperative Federation.

The team had so far examined 87 witnesses and seized 152 documents.

The vigilance submitted the status report in pursuance of a high court order on a PIL on the dal scam. The PIL had sought a CBI probe. Taking note of it, the two-judge bench of Chief Justice V. Gopala Gowda and Justice B.N. Mohapatra fixed July 29 for hearing on the case.

The PIL had contended that, “inferior, rotten, infected and sub-standard Arhar dal unfit for human consumption were being supplied for the mid-day meal purposes and it is being done by the suppliers by fabricating documents in nexus with the government functionaries in the departments of women and child welfare, food and consumer welfare, Orissa civil supply corporation and school and mass education at the cost of the lives of lakhs of school-going children”.