One scheme, many schools, one end
27 Oct 2012 5:41 AM IST
[Millennium Post Investigation]
Mid-Day Meal Scam: Part- VI
Read Part-I, Part-II, Part-III, Part-IV, Part-V, & Part-VII
The implementation of the mid-day meal scheme meets the same inefficient and corrupt end in the primary and upper primary schools of the Delhi government as it does in the schools of municipal corporations of Delhi. The reason for this is that the government schools have similar policies and same NGOs to supply meals to their students, as is done in the case of municipal schools. One of the issues that reduces nutritional value in these meals is that the NGOs take out a part of the conversion cost from the meal.
The implementation of the mid-day meal scheme meets the same inefficient and corrupt end in the primary and upper primary schools of the Delhi government as it does in the schools of municipal corporations of Delhi. The reason for this is that the government schools have similar policies and same NGOs to supply meals to their students, as is done in the case of municipal schools. The Delhi government has engaged 17 NGOs to provide mid-day meals to about 8.16 lakh students in its primary and upper primary schools.
One of the issues that reduces nutritional value in these meals is that the NGOs take out a part of the conversion cost from the meal. They use this money to arrange infrastructure for cooking and distributing the meals. For students of primary schools, the NGOs get Rs 3.12 per student and for upper primary schools, the figure is Rs 4.65 per student. These NGOs are not provided separate budget for kitchen construction, maintenance, salary of employees, engagement of cook-cum-helpers and transportation of food from their kitchens to schools. They have to bear the entire cost themselves, and the result is, they end up eating from the plates of poor children.
In 2010-11, the Programme Approval Board (PAB) for the scheme decided that teachers and students should not be asked to help carry food from the NGO kitchens to the schools. So, the Delhi government demanded appointment of 18,740 cooks-cum-helpers for the financial year for this purpose, which was sanctioned by the PAB and an amount of Rs 14.05 crore was set aside for this.
But not even a single cook-cum-helper was appointed for the distribution job, leaving the whole burden on the NGOs, which invariably comes out of the conversion cost and the grain these NGOs save per student.
‘The samples of food in all the schools and kitchens of NGOs are invariably failing the quality and quantity standards in the current session. Not even a single sample of mid day meal food has passed the calorie standard,’ said T K Singh, Project Coordinator of Centre for Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), Delhi, the centrally-appointed monitoring institute (MI) for third party monitoring of mid day meal project in Delhi.
‘We have just concluded the survey for the current session and is in the stage of compiling the data so unable to give the exact figure,’ added Singh. In Delhi, Sri Ram Institute of Industrial Research has been appointed as designated laboratory to pick up samples of mid day meal from kitchens of NGOs and also from schools for chemical analysis. The CSDS in its report submitted to central government for 2011-12 session has also submitted adverse comments on quality and quantity of food in mid day meal.
‘The grade ‘A’ quality of rice lifted from the godowns of Food Corporation of India (FCI) is not reaching in the store rooms of these kitches,’ submitted CSDS in its report.
‘Despite the assurance of nodal officer of mid day meal in Delhi, Diwan Chand, Special Secretary, Eduction of Delhi government in the meeting of Programme Approval Committee (PAB) on 3 April to improve the system, nothing has changed so far,’ said T K Singh. The nodal officer has assured the PAB that Management Monitoring and Evaluation (MME) structure will be in place within three months. Only 13 percent of Rs 198.74 lakh MME allocation was utilised in 2011-12 by Delhi government. Another Rs 103.58 lakhs has been allocated for monitoring of mid day meal in Delhi for the current session 2012-13.
The CAG in its report on 24 June 2012 also put adverse comments on the mid day meal scheme in Delhi.
‘An examination of records at 12 district offices for aided-, as well as 143 government schools, revealed that bills for supply for meals were not always accompanied by test certificates by authorised labs. A check of 415 bills aggregating Rs 112.53 lakh revealed that only 66 were supported by certificates, of which, 42, involving Rs 15.16 lakh, indicated substandard meals.
However, no recovery or deduction was effected from any of these bills. The report also states that out of 143 schools covered, 33 did not have weighing machines to ensure the quantity,’ said the report.
In addition to eight NGOs supplying mid day meal in MCD schools Delhi government has nine more NGOs. The quantity standard for primary students is same as in MCD–200 gm wheat and 250 gm of rice item– but for upper primary a student should get 250 gm of wheat item and 375 gm of rice item on his plate.
Here too the NGOs are feeding at least two students in 150 gm grain allocated for one, which you can check in your kitchen, thus stealing at least half of the grain and cooking cost. The attendance of the students is also maintained at 60 percent.
But only difference is that they have some unused grain and budget at the end of the year. For instance, the Delhi government has 759.75 metric tonnes of unused food grain and Rs 1263.57 lakh unused amount on 1st April 2011 as opening stock while MCD had used an additional of 542.09 metric tonnes of grain for the same period and has shown zero balance for budget.
In the present session there are 1.49 lakh students in the 204 primary schools of Delhi government studying from class I to Class V and 6,66,928 students in 960 upper primary schools studying in class VI to VIII.
The government has engaged 17 NGOs to provide mid day meal its schools. The menu is also same in these schools. Delhi government on 29 September 2009 engaged 10 NGOs and later on added six more in the list in 2010 and recently Akshaya Patra Foundation was engaged on 1st July 2012.
New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) used entire money but had 18.18 metric tonnes of grain as opening balance. NDMC has 14193 student in 55 primary schools and 5810 students in 29 upper primary schools. There are around 2600 students in 6 schools run by Delhi Cantonment Board (DCB).
Mid-Day Meal Scam: Part- VI
Read Part-I, Part-II, Part-III, Part-IV, Part-V, & Part-VII
The implementation of the mid-day meal scheme meets the same inefficient and corrupt end in the primary and upper primary schools of the Delhi government as it does in the schools of municipal corporations of Delhi. The reason for this is that the government schools have similar policies and same NGOs to supply meals to their students, as is done in the case of municipal schools. One of the issues that reduces nutritional value in these meals is that the NGOs take out a part of the conversion cost from the meal.
The implementation of the mid-day meal scheme meets the same inefficient and corrupt end in the primary and upper primary schools of the Delhi government as it does in the schools of municipal corporations of Delhi. The reason for this is that the government schools have similar policies and same NGOs to supply meals to their students, as is done in the case of municipal schools. The Delhi government has engaged 17 NGOs to provide mid-day meals to about 8.16 lakh students in its primary and upper primary schools.
One of the issues that reduces nutritional value in these meals is that the NGOs take out a part of the conversion cost from the meal. They use this money to arrange infrastructure for cooking and distributing the meals. For students of primary schools, the NGOs get Rs 3.12 per student and for upper primary schools, the figure is Rs 4.65 per student. These NGOs are not provided separate budget for kitchen construction, maintenance, salary of employees, engagement of cook-cum-helpers and transportation of food from their kitchens to schools. They have to bear the entire cost themselves, and the result is, they end up eating from the plates of poor children.
In 2010-11, the Programme Approval Board (PAB) for the scheme decided that teachers and students should not be asked to help carry food from the NGO kitchens to the schools. So, the Delhi government demanded appointment of 18,740 cooks-cum-helpers for the financial year for this purpose, which was sanctioned by the PAB and an amount of Rs 14.05 crore was set aside for this.
But not even a single cook-cum-helper was appointed for the distribution job, leaving the whole burden on the NGOs, which invariably comes out of the conversion cost and the grain these NGOs save per student.
‘The samples of food in all the schools and kitchens of NGOs are invariably failing the quality and quantity standards in the current session. Not even a single sample of mid day meal food has passed the calorie standard,’ said T K Singh, Project Coordinator of Centre for Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), Delhi, the centrally-appointed monitoring institute (MI) for third party monitoring of mid day meal project in Delhi.
‘We have just concluded the survey for the current session and is in the stage of compiling the data so unable to give the exact figure,’ added Singh. In Delhi, Sri Ram Institute of Industrial Research has been appointed as designated laboratory to pick up samples of mid day meal from kitchens of NGOs and also from schools for chemical analysis. The CSDS in its report submitted to central government for 2011-12 session has also submitted adverse comments on quality and quantity of food in mid day meal.
‘The grade ‘A’ quality of rice lifted from the godowns of Food Corporation of India (FCI) is not reaching in the store rooms of these kitches,’ submitted CSDS in its report.
‘Despite the assurance of nodal officer of mid day meal in Delhi, Diwan Chand, Special Secretary, Eduction of Delhi government in the meeting of Programme Approval Committee (PAB) on 3 April to improve the system, nothing has changed so far,’ said T K Singh. The nodal officer has assured the PAB that Management Monitoring and Evaluation (MME) structure will be in place within three months. Only 13 percent of Rs 198.74 lakh MME allocation was utilised in 2011-12 by Delhi government. Another Rs 103.58 lakhs has been allocated for monitoring of mid day meal in Delhi for the current session 2012-13.
The CAG in its report on 24 June 2012 also put adverse comments on the mid day meal scheme in Delhi.
‘An examination of records at 12 district offices for aided-, as well as 143 government schools, revealed that bills for supply for meals were not always accompanied by test certificates by authorised labs. A check of 415 bills aggregating Rs 112.53 lakh revealed that only 66 were supported by certificates, of which, 42, involving Rs 15.16 lakh, indicated substandard meals.
However, no recovery or deduction was effected from any of these bills. The report also states that out of 143 schools covered, 33 did not have weighing machines to ensure the quantity,’ said the report.
In addition to eight NGOs supplying mid day meal in MCD schools Delhi government has nine more NGOs. The quantity standard for primary students is same as in MCD–200 gm wheat and 250 gm of rice item– but for upper primary a student should get 250 gm of wheat item and 375 gm of rice item on his plate.
Here too the NGOs are feeding at least two students in 150 gm grain allocated for one, which you can check in your kitchen, thus stealing at least half of the grain and cooking cost. The attendance of the students is also maintained at 60 percent.
But only difference is that they have some unused grain and budget at the end of the year. For instance, the Delhi government has 759.75 metric tonnes of unused food grain and Rs 1263.57 lakh unused amount on 1st April 2011 as opening stock while MCD had used an additional of 542.09 metric tonnes of grain for the same period and has shown zero balance for budget.
In the present session there are 1.49 lakh students in the 204 primary schools of Delhi government studying from class I to Class V and 6,66,928 students in 960 upper primary schools studying in class VI to VIII.
The government has engaged 17 NGOs to provide mid day meal its schools. The menu is also same in these schools. Delhi government on 29 September 2009 engaged 10 NGOs and later on added six more in the list in 2010 and recently Akshaya Patra Foundation was engaged on 1st July 2012.
New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) used entire money but had 18.18 metric tonnes of grain as opening balance. NDMC has 14193 student in 55 primary schools and 5810 students in 29 upper primary schools. There are around 2600 students in 6 schools run by Delhi Cantonment Board (DCB).
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