PUNE: Self-help groups and centralized kitchens cooking midday meals for thousands of children in the state will have to cut corners to provide quality food.
The state government has allocated Rs 2.68 as per child remuneration in primary schools in rural areas for Stds I to V, and Rs 4.02 for Stds VI to VIII. For urban areas, the budget is Rs 4.95 and Rs 7.45 per child in the respective classes.
Children are served meals comprising rice and sambar, moong dal khichdi, sprouts and rice, cooked toor dal and rice. The government provides the dry ration comprising rice and lentils for the meal.
Self-help groups and people who operate the centralized kitchens have to purchase the oil for cooking, and bear the transport and fuel costs to fetch their supplies. The increased remunerations are not enough to cover any of these expenses, the providers said.
A manager of a centralized kitchen said on the condition of anonymity, "We were awarded the tender in August 2019 for three years which ends on July 31. Since schools were closed for two years, we gave the students dry ration. Now that we have to give them cooked meals, it will be difficult to manage the budget. When the tender was issued, the per litre price of oil was Rs 80 which is now Rs 160. Commercial LPG rates have nearly doubled from Rs 1,150 to Rs 2,050 and fuel prices have increased steeply. All this cost sa lot of money which we cannot afford."
Representatives of the Maharashtra State Principals' Forum said fuel costs and vegetable oil prices have gone up and added that the state must either increase the per-child remuneration prescribed in the midday meal scheme or procure the oil and fuel on their own and give them to the providers.
Mahendra Ganpule, spokesperson of the forum, said if the providers are unable to meet the expenses, the quality of food given to the children will be affected.
"We want the government to either revise the rates or supply them with fuel and oil along with the rice. The quality of food given to students must not suffer or principals are held responsible for any lapse," Ganpule added.
Rajesh Gaikwad, who has a centralized kitchen in Pune for the midday meal, said it would be difficult to manage with the budget provided by the state government.
