Implementation of the ambitious midday meal scheme has become a Herculean task for workers executing the scheme following non-payment of wages, including monthly honorarium, for the last six months in various parts of Karimnagar district.
The non-payment of wages has had an impact on the quality of food served to students by midday meal workers.
Against the norms of serving three eggs a week, the workers had to reduce it to twice a week owing to budgetary constraints.
Also, they served the meals with dal and leafy vegetables, excluding vegetables, following increase in prices.
The midday meal scheme has been implemented in 564 government schools, which is said to benefit 52,760 students. The government provides ₹6.13 paise per student for primary schools and ₹8.18 paise per student for upper primary and high school students, which included the egg cost. The government supplied rice free of cost and the midday workers had to procure the provisions to prepare the meals at the above said rates.
Besides, they have to serve weekly three eggs to students. “As the wages had not been released and the cost of provisions had increased in the last six months, I was forced to incur debts to the tune of ₹1 lakh to provide food to the students,” said Vasumathi, a midday meal worker at the government high school in Sapthagiri colony in Karimnagar town. “I did it in the hope that the government would release my wages accordingly, but in vain,’ she said.
Sometimes, the government does not even supply rice on time forcing them to purchase it from open market, she said, adding that she would get higher wages when she went out to work as a construction labourer. She urged the government to increase their wages and commission to a fixed ₹10 per student. The midday meal workers are at the receiving end due to the inadequate supply of rice.
The government supplies 50-kg bags, but each bag contains only 45 kg. There is a loss of 5 kg per bag, said ZPHS Nallagonda headmaster Prathap Reddy.
He urged the government to check the leakages in the rice supplied to schools for the midday meals as they were being pilfered at various stages because of supply of fine quality rice.