The school first appoints a SHG to serve midday meals to their students and submits a letter to the deputy director's office for approval
Dilip Inkar, an advocate and legal advisor of self-help group (SHG) Mauli Mahila Sanstha that provides midday meals to schools has written a complaint to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) education officer against a few civic officials from the midday meal section. Inkar alleges that the officials demanded and took bribes of more than Rs 1 lakh from Mauli Mahila Sanstha to accept the SHG's proposal to serve midday meals in a school and to clear the SHG's bills for 2016-17. Inkar further alleged that bribes are demanded from every SHG.
According to Inkar, the school first appoints a SHG to serve midday meals to their students and submits a letter to the deputy director's office for approval. The BMC's education department's midday meal section gives the final approval as it is this department that clears the SHG's bills at the end of the year.
Inkar said, "Initially a few officials from this department demanded Rs 1 lakh and more to sanction the file for serving midday meal to the school that appointed this organisation. I have proof that this was paid. When the time came to clear the bills at the end of the year, the department only paid this organisation around Rs 8 lakh and did not pay the remaining amount of around Rs 3 lakh. The department officials also asked this organisation to pay 4.5 per cent bribe which is also paid by this organisation for clearing last year's bills which they ask from every self help group."
Inkar alleges that he wrote a complaint last year as well which the BMC education department misplaced. This year he wrote to the civic education officer again on January 6 and has demanded an inquiry against the officers whose names he mentioned in the letter. In October 2017, Inkar also wrote to the chief minister, education minister and anti-corruption bureau regarding the same.
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I have received the complaint and I have forwarded it to the department that conducts inquiry. The action will be decided later if it is proved that the allegations are not baseless.
Mahesh Palkar, education officer, BMC
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 "Mid-Day Meal")
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