Alarming Budget Utilization for Mid-Day Meal Scheme in West Bengal

February 9, 2026

Kolkata, February 9: Recent figures regarding the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in West Bengal have raised concerns. The interim budget documents 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 for the last two financial years, 2023-24 and 2024-25, is alarming. For the financial year 2024-25, the budget allocation for the Mid-Day Meal Scheme was ₹2,299.30 crores. However, the actual expenditure for that year was only ₹241.96 crores, which accounts for just 10.52 percent of the total allocation. In the preceding financial year, 2023-24, the budget provision was ₹2,377 crores, but the actual utilization was merely ₹515.04 crores, equating to 21.66 percent.

For the financial year 2026-27, the state has allocated ₹1,673.12 crores for the Mid-Day Meal Scheme. However, revised estimates for 2025-26 suggest that only ₹320.01 crores (just 19.12 percent) will be spent by March 31, 2026.

This indicates that the average percentage utilization of the budget allocation for the Mid-Day Meal Scheme across these three financial years is a mere 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.

A state finance department official 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 over a significant decline in the number of students benefiting from the program last June.

The Department of School Education and Literacy at the central level has also requested a report from the West Bengal government, indicating that this decline is a major factor contributing to the rising dropout rates in the state.