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Nagpur: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had recently inaugurated the supply of mid-meals through centralized kitchen food distribution system. This is said to be joint pilot project started by NMC in association with Akshay Patra Foundation.
About 5,000 students from 22 NMC and 22 Zilla Parishad schools in city would get mid-day meal free-of-cost from this centre.
However, many organizations which have been working in the supply of Mid Day meals have opposed this system and questioned the effectiveness of the system.
While raising their objection on the system, the RTE Action Committee has government to furnish information on the monitoring system of this supply system.
According to President of RTE Action Committee Shahid Sharif, on one hand the state government is ignoring the guidelines of the Central Government while on the other hand they are playing with the lives of small children by starting such schemes.
Sharif claimed that on April 25, 2013, the Ministry of Human Resource Development had issued directives about the monitoring of Mid Day Meal Scheme to every state government. According to the directives, a Mid Day Meal Control Committee would be established under the Chairmanship of the District Collector.
However, for the last one year this Committee has not been constituted at all. Meanwhile news of pilferage of stealing of food-grains, supply of low-quality food to small children etc have come to fore under this Mid Day Meal System.
This was when the distribution of Mid Day Meal was done on a small scale. When the same Mid Day Meal Distribution is executed on a large scale, monitoring this will become more difficult. Secondly, the claim of distribution of hot Mid Day Meals simultaneously to all the schools is a big question.
