Soren Cabinet decision stuck in technicalities
The Hemant Soren Government's decision to make mid-day meals nutritious at all Government schools in Jharkhand by providing eggs and fruits has run into rough weather.
Thanks to inter-departmental standoff, the proposal to make available egg as supplement for three days in a week through the mid-day meal (MDM) has caught an early bug.
The August 26 decision taken by the Cabinet is not sounding okay to the Human Resource Development Department. A few days back, the Primary Education Directorate returned the file to the Cabinet objecting to the execution of the proposal.
Top-level sources privy to the development informed The Pioneer on Friday that against the Cabinet nod for open purchase of the eggs to be distributed among over 28.7 lakh children belonging to classes 1 to V, the HRD Department has pitched for the tender option.
"The file has been sent back to the Cabinet for reconsidering the mode of purchase. The Department is of the view that eggs should be purchased after finalising a supplier through open bidding process. It would ensure transparency into all this and also the responsibility," said a senior official.
Primary Education Director Jeetwahan Oraon confirming the development said, "No go-ahead is there as far as making available eggs to the schoolchildren is concerned. The file has not returned from the Cabinet as of now." The objection put forth by the Department is based on the fact that as this is a big initiative involving such a huge amount it would not be just to waive the tender process as it may gather several anomalies with the time.
The Cabinet had at the same time also approved over `155 crore for supplying eggs or fruits as supplement in all the Government run schools of the State. "The Department is also very particular about the tender process as egg is highly perishable item as we have seen cases of rotten eggs being distributed among school children," added the official.
The Cabinet in its decision had proposed that the purchase of eggs can be done through the Sharaswati Vahinis or school management committees already functional in all the schools to run the MDM scheme successfully. The entities are responsible for making arrangements for all the requirements, including food grains and vegetables in the school kitchens. Food grain for the scheme is supplied by FCI on subsidised rate as the latest enhanced cooking cost for primary category stands for `3.59 per head.