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Journalism of Courage
In fresh trouble for the midday meal (MDM) scheme,the Human Resources Development Ministry has discovered a violation of guidelines in the supply of meals in Uttar Pradeshs most prominent districts.
The ministry is irked that the state government is assigning MDM service to the Akshay Patra NGO in districts dominated by rural areas even though the guidelines permit the involvement of an NGO only in urban areas where there is no space for kitchens in schools.
On August 14,Amarjit Singh,Additional Secretary of the Ministry,wrote to the state government,saying that the decision to assign MDM services to the NGO in four districts – Lucknow,Kanpur,Agra and Kannauj – is in contravention of the MDM Guidelines. Singh also asked the state to review the decision.
Sunil Kumar,Principal Secretary,Basic Education,UP,to whom the letter was addressed,confirmed: Yes,we have received the letter from the central government. The competent authority will take a decision on it soon.
As per HRD Ministry guidelines,centralised kitchens can be sanctioned in urban areas where there is a space constraint for setting up of school kitchens in individual schools.
But in the case of these four districts,majority of schools are in rural areas and there is ample space for schools in urban locations.
In its letter,the Ministry reminded the state government that the purpose of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme is not only to serve the meal to the children but also to ensure community participation and a sense of local community ownership.
This also comes as an embarrassment for the state government as Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had laid the foundation stone of one of the kitchens,which are now under scrutiny,in Lucknow in June this year. Kannauj,meanwhile,is represented by his wife,Dimple,in the Lok Sabha.
When contacted,Chanchalapati Das,Vice President and trustee of Akshay Patra,said,I am not aware of the latest communication or decision of the Union Ministry. In fact,our kitchen is already under construction for the project now.
The NGO has been hit by allegations that it collected unauthorised and illegal donations from the public for the government-sponsored MDM scheme in Karnataka.
