It refers to shocking news about school-children being given ordinary rotis (bread) and salt in name of mid-rem meal at Mirzapur (UP) funded heavily by the government being largest such programme in the world feeding about 12 crore school-children. Such social schemes have in many cases become scandalous with funds or goods allotted for the purpose are swallowed by those involved in managing the scheme at school-level. There are frequent reports of sub-standard raw-material like rice and pulses with lot of foreign ingredients being used to cook mid-day meal in schools. Apart from this complaints of finding deal lizards, rats etc are also not uncommon.
System should be to provide only packaged food within expiry-date as mentioned on packs under mid-day meal programme. It will also take care of peculiar food-habits of some children like food without onion and garlic. Members of Civil-Society have expressed fear that accepting suggestion to provide packaged biscuits procured from private companies in Mid-Day meal-scheme may be on behest of influential private sector lobby. Instead government can motivate companies to provide packaged food under Corporate-Social-Responsibility (CSR) provision for corporates.
Best will be to revive government-owned Modern Bakery with its units set up at district levels where different types of delicious and nutritious baked food-items may be produced not only for Mid-Day meal scheme but also for open market sale. Initial investment on such units can be easily recovered in the very first year of their being set up with land made available free by state-governments for public-cause. It will create employment-opportunity also for people across the country. Or else scope of Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited(IRCTC) should be increased for supplying packaged food for mid-day school-meal.
MADHU AGRAWAL