Tamil Nadu Noon Meal Scam Unravels ₹2,400 Crores of Kickbacks

An alleged nexus between a major food supplier for Tamil Nadu’s noon meal scheme, politicians and bureaucrats has been exposed by the Income Tax Department.

(Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

An alleged nexus between a major food supplier for Tamil Nadu’s noon meal scheme, politicians and bureaucrats has been exposed by the Income Tax Department.

Payment to the tune of ₹2,400 crore to top politicians, senior bureaucrats and their family members have been traced with the help of electronic storage devices and documents seized from the premises of Tiruchengode-based Christy Friedgram Industry and its employees in July, reported The Hindu.

Christy Friedgram Industry supplies pulses, palm oil and eggs for the Social Welfare department’s noon meal programme and other welfare schemes.

The documents that we have seized include the book of accounts for many years that show payments made to politicians, bureaucrats and others, mostly in code, over a period of time. In a few cases, the names of the family members of bureaucrats who held key posts figured in the list of beneficiaries.

Investigating officer to <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/tamil-nadu-noon-meal-scam-income-tax-seizures-reveal-payment-of-2400-crore-in-kickbacks-to-politicians-officials/article25581635.ece">The Hindu</a>

There were a few documents related to suspicious payments and classified documents like proposals for posting of IAS officers, sources in the investigating agency said.

The company has been accused of hiding sources of revenue in its tax returns. Officers said they had submitted contradictory documents while seeking loans from a nationalised bank in Namakkal, reported Scroll.

The investigating wing will soon write to the state government and other Central agencies, sharing details of the scam, for appropriate action at their end, the official told The Hindu.

Several shell companies are suspected to be associated with Christy Friedgram Industry and their bank accounts have been frozen. The firm had moved the Madras High Court seeking a stay on the Income Tax Department’s action against it and also sought to plead ignorance about the documents seized.

The firm was blacklisted in Karnataka in 2014 after an inquiry by the Lokayukta.