(a) whether the Government has recently reviewed the working of the Mid-day Meal Scheme in the country;
(b) if so, the outcome thereof;
(c) whether the enrolment in the schools has increased after the introduction of the Scheme;
(d) if so, the extent of increase in each State as on date;
(e) whether the Government is regularly monitoring the quality of food served under the Scheme;
(f) if so, the details thereof; and
(g) the steps taken/proposed to be taken to strengthen the Scheme?
MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRI KAPIL SIBAL)
(a) to (g): A Statement is laid on the Table of the Sabha.
Statement referred to in reply to parts (a) to (g) of Lok Sabha Starred Question
No.95 for 03-03-2010 by Dr. Thokchom Meinya and Shri Pralhad Joshi regarding Review
of Mid-day Meal Scheme.
(a) & (b): The Central Government reviews the implementation of Mid-Day Meal
Scheme (MDMS) regularly through the Quarterly Progress Reports (QPRs), Regional
and National level meetings, half-yearly reports of the 42 independent Monitoring
Institutions and Review Missions. The most recent review of the MDMS was undertaken
in a National level meeting held on 30-01-2010 at New Delhi. As against an approval
of 11.77 crore for this year, on an average 10.56 crore children availed mid day meal
till 30-09-2009. As against 29.49 lakh MTs of foodgrain allocated, 16.91 lakh MTs
of foodgrain has been lifted upto 31-12-2009. Till 31-12-2009, Rs.4900.83 crore was
released to the States/UTs against a revised estimate of Rs.7359.15 crore.
(c) & (d): Enrolment of students in schools depends on several interventions
of the Government in the field of education, health and nutrition and also on
economic development, demographic changes, expansion of the private sector in
elementary education etc. Therefore, change in enrolment cannot be attributed
solely to Mid-Day Meal Scheme. State/UT wise change in enrolment between 2004-05
to 2007-08 is given in the Annexure.
(e) & (f): The overall responsibility to ensure all logistic and administrative
arrangements for wholesome and regular cooked mid day meal in every eligible school/
institution lies with the State Government/UT administration. The Central Government
continuously urges the State/UT Governments to:
# lift only good quality foodgrains from FCI godowns after joint inspection
# store food items in dry and safe places
# ensure that food is cooked in a hygienic environment
# properly train cooks to adopt hygienic practices
# get the food tasted by 2-3 adults including one teacher
# ensure availability of drinking water
# involve the community in implementation and supervision of the scheme
# Officers of State Governments/UT Administrations are required to inspect
on an average 25% of the schools every quarter to ensure proper implementation of
the scheme.
(g): In order to strengthen the Scheme, following steps have been taken:
# Foodgrain norm increased for upper primary children
# Cooking cost has been revised from Rs. 1.68 to Rs. 2.50 for primary and from
Rs. 2.20 to Rs. 3.75 for upper primary children.
# A separate component for payment of honorarium of Rs. 1000 per month to cook-
cum-helper and a norm for engaging cook- cum-helper has been introduced.
# The cost of construction of kitchen-cum-store is now be determined on the
basis of State Schedule of Rates and the plinth area norm fixed by the Govt. of India,
instead of a flat rate of Rs. 60,000 per unit for the whole country.
# Transportation assistance in the 11 Special Category States has been made at
par with the Public Distribution System (PDS) rates prevalent in these States.
# Payment to Food Corporation of India is decentralized to district level from
01-4-2010.