Squaring the meal
20 Nov 2014 10:30 PM GMT
If 86 per cent of mid day meal samples failing the quality test wasn’t sufficient, the national capital has registered a Rs 38 crore scam in the same. It should not come as a surprise as rarely would you find a government scheme meant for the upliftment of the poorest of the poor not laced with counts of massive corruption.
That is how government schemes for the public good, work in the country it seems. With three children being fed on ration meant for two, the forever suspected non government organisations (NGOs) who are engaged to supply the meals in the city are directly stealing Rs 3.34 and 100 grams of grain (rice or wheat) per meal per day at primary level and Rs 5 and 150 grams grain per meal per day at upper primary level. With 6,99,000 and 4,42,500 beneficiaries at primary and upper primary level respectively being deprived against in the city, one can understand the level of complicity that the state functionaries along with NGOs are involved in.
And this is happening when the prime minister of the nation Narendra Modi has called for a complete crackdown on any form of corruption. How is the ministry for human resource development (HRD) going to answer the many uncomfortable questions being posed at it will be interesting to see? Mid-day meals have forever been in the dock and the current as the previous governments should be hauled up for its current state of affairs. Perhaps the government should itself answer how does it intend to make innocent school children eat meals which either have lizard remains or roasted cockroaches in them? What is the need to run a populist scheme which has such pertinent issues? What is the need to pose as the benefactor when there is a complete understanding that the administrative machinery has failed in providing good quality food as also keeping it way from some serious forms of fraud?
That is how government schemes for the public good, work in the country it seems. With three children being fed on ration meant for two, the forever suspected non government organisations (NGOs) who are engaged to supply the meals in the city are directly stealing Rs 3.34 and 100 grams of grain (rice or wheat) per meal per day at primary level and Rs 5 and 150 grams grain per meal per day at upper primary level. With 6,99,000 and 4,42,500 beneficiaries at primary and upper primary level respectively being deprived against in the city, one can understand the level of complicity that the state functionaries along with NGOs are involved in.
And this is happening when the prime minister of the nation Narendra Modi has called for a complete crackdown on any form of corruption. How is the ministry for human resource development (HRD) going to answer the many uncomfortable questions being posed at it will be interesting to see? Mid-day meals have forever been in the dock and the current as the previous governments should be hauled up for its current state of affairs. Perhaps the government should itself answer how does it intend to make innocent school children eat meals which either have lizard remains or roasted cockroaches in them? What is the need to run a populist scheme which has such pertinent issues? What is the need to pose as the benefactor when there is a complete understanding that the administrative machinery has failed in providing good quality food as also keeping it way from some serious forms of fraud?
Next Story
