Question : CORRUPTION CASES

(a) whether the Government has taken note of the quality of the nutritious food including Panjeeri provided to women under Supplementary Nutrition Programme in the country and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the Government has received complaints regarding quality of the said food during each of the last three years and the current year, if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto;

(c) whether the cases of corruption against the officials of the Ministry have come to the notice of the Government during the said period , if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor along with the action taken/being taken by the Government against the erring officials;

(d) whether the Ministry has framed any transfer policy to regulate its officials in order to curb such cases, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(e) whether instances of violation of the said transfer policy have come to the notice of the Government during the said period, if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; and

(f) the corrective steps taken/being taken by the Government in this regard?

MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI MANEKA SANJAY GANDHI)

(a) Yes Madam, the Government is aware about the quality of nutritious food provided to the beneficiaries of the ICDS Scheme in the country. For this purpose, Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) under the aegis of this Ministry has been testing the quality of Supplementary Nutrition as per prescribed nutrition norms to ensure that the standards of nutritive value are adhered to and maintained. During the last three years, FNB analyzed 17789 numbers of SNP samples out of which 515 numbers of samples were found non-conformed as per nutritional norms. The matter has been brought to the notice of the respective States/UTs to take corrective measures at their end.

(b) Government has received various complaints of irregularities in implementation of Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP) including quality of food under Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme implemented by the States/UTs. During the last three years and current year, 49 such complaints were received pertaining to States/UTs of Bihar (2011-1, 2012-1, 2013-1), Delhi (2011-1, 2012-1, 2014-1), Haryana (2011-1), Jharkhand (2011-1, 2012-1), Odisha (2011-3, 2013-1), Rajasthan (2011-1, 2012-4), Uttar Pradesh (2011-2, 2012-7, 2013-1, 2014-3), Assam (2012-1), Chhatishgarh (2012-1), Maharashtra (2012-9, 2013-1, 2014-4), Madhya Pradesh (2012-1) and Manipur (2013-1). Since ICDS is a centrally sponsored scheme implemented by States/UTs and the responsibility for implementation of SNP and management thereof rests with the States/UTs, such complaints were forwarded to concerned States/UTs for appropriate action and report.

(c) No Madam, there is no case of corruption against the officials of the Ministry under the ICDS Scheme during the said period.

(d),(e) & (f): The Ministry has no separate transfer policy of its own. It follows the instructions issued by Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and Department of Personnel and Training (DOP&T) from time to time regarding transfer/rotation of officers holding sensitive posts.