Kerala High Court seeks update on steps taken to implement mid-day meal scheme

Kochi:  Acting on a petition filed by principals of the state-run schools about meeting the expenses of the mid-day meal scheme from their own pockets, the Kerala High Court has asked both the state and the Centre about the steps taken to implement the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (mid-day meal scheme) in government aided schools.

There has been a lot of hue and cry about the manner in which the principals have been forced to spend their own money on the mid-day meal scheme for want of timely allocation of funds for it.

The court was told by the state government that it has now allotted Rs 232 crores for this programe for the present fiscal and also pointed out that it will be presenting the schedule on how these funds would be distributed to the schools.

The court said that the Central government's Mid-day Meal Rules envisaged a system of committees at five levels to oversee the implementation of the scheme and the responsibility of the heads of the schools and teachers is to see that the programme is implemented in the right manner.

It also made it clear that it was the Centre and the state governments who were responsible for jointly funding the scheme.

The petitioners stated that the present funds were insufficient and many of them have to put money from their pockets to ensure the scheme goes forward.

The court will now hear the case on Wednesday.