Kolkata, February 9: Shocking statistics have emerged regarding the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in West Bengal. Documents from the interim budget presented in the state assembly last week reveal that a minimal amount of the allocated budget for the scheme has been utilized.
According to the budget documents, the situation over the past two financial years, 2024-25 and 2023-24, has been dire. For the financial year 2024-25, the budget allocation for the Mid-Day Meal Scheme was ₹2,299.30 crores, but the actual expenditure for that year was only ₹241.96 crores, which is a mere 10.52 percent of the total allocation. In the previous financial year, 2023-24, ₹2,377 crores were allocated, but only ₹515.04 crores were utilized, translating to just 21.66 percent.
For the financial year 2026-27, the state has earmarked ₹1,673.12 crores for the Mid-Day Meal Scheme. However, according to revised estimates for 2025-26, only ₹320.01 crores (just 19.12 percent) are expected to be spent by March 31, 2026.
This indicates that the average percentage of budget utilization for the Mid-Day Meal Scheme across these three financial years is only 16.96 percent.
In light of the low utilization rates, the West Bengal government has reduced the budget allocation for the 2026-27 financial year to ₹1,150.90 crores, significantly lower than the figures for 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26.
An official from the state finance department stated, “The budget allocation of ₹1,150.90 crores for the Mid-Day Meal Scheme for 2025-27 may not be final and could be revised after the new state cabinet presents a full budget following the upcoming assembly elections.”
This revelation about low spending on the Mid-Day Meal Scheme comes at a time when the central government expressed concern last June over a significant decline in the number of students benefiting from these programs.
The Department of School Education and Literacy at the central government has also requested a report from the West Bengal government, citing the increasing dropout rates in the state as a primary concern.