Even as the whole country was mourning over the deaths of 22 school children after eating Mid-day meal in Bihar, the State Government is still slumbering as it hasn't yet replied to any recommendation made by the Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission on the scheme.
Official sources said that the Rights Commission had sent its recommendations to the State Government two months ago on various issues concerning over the scheme, but the Government hasn't given any reply or commitment to the recommendation. Sources said the recommendations had emphasised on immediate procedural of the midday meal and said the self help groups should be relived of the responsibilities of providing food and kitchen provided at the school premises should be used to prepare healthy and safe food.
It also highlighted that a committee comprising of school teachers should monitor the whole process of midday meal so that quality and nutritious food can be served to the children and in case negligence is found in the implementation, strict action against the committee members should be taken. The recommendations further pointed out that apart from monitoring, arrangements for providing packaged food to the children should be initiated.
The expiry dates of goods should be checked properly before the preparations. Regular visits must be ensured that students are receiving proper and good amount of food. The Commission had recommended a compensation for the students of Belkheda, near Jabalpur who had fallen sick after consuming midday meal on August 15, 2011. The severely affected students should be given a compensation of Rs 10,000 while less affected students should be given a compensation of Rs 5,000, the Commission had stated. In the same incident, one of the students died later on August 20 while undergoing treatment.
Notably, after the incident the Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission had sent the recommendations to the Madhya Pradesh Government. The self help groups were removed and the responsible teachers and principals were suspended with immediate effect. A criminal case was registered against 12 persons including Kisli primary school headmaster and middle-school principal along with SHG office-bearers.