Close on the heels of the Mid-day meal tragedy that claimed 23 students in neighbouring Bihar, Child Rights Protection Commission of Madhay Pradesh on Wednesday initiated action to check the mid-day meal being served to the students following reports of many irregularities in the State as well.
Meanwhile, Chairperson of Child Rights Protection Commission Usha Chaturvedi directed officials concerned of the Mid-day meal scheme to provide quality and tasty food to the school children. The Chairman stated this during a hearing of cases at the Commission office. She said the Commission had received complaints that Nandi Foundation had supplied hard roti to school located at Jabalpur, Bhopal and Indore and other irregularities by the foundation. Commission members Vijaya Shukla, RH lata, Reena Gujral and Vibhanshu Joshi heard eight cases on Wednesday.
Chaturvedi directed municipal officers, District Education Officers and local managers of Nandi Foundation of Bhopal, Jabalpur and Indore to provide meal to children as per prescribed menu.
She also informed that the Commission cannot change the menu but if concerned people move an application then the Commission can recommend to the Government to serve other tasty meals to children instead of roti on 2 days a week. The Commission also took serious note of lizard found in Mid-day meal in Seoni district and sought factual information about it from officers of Janpad Panchayat and District Programme Officer of Women and Child Development department who were present during hearing. On receipt of a similar complaint, the Commission directed officers of Shajapur to improve arrangements by August and those of Vidisha within three days. Notably, Nandi Foundation has contract of supplying Mid-day meals to the schools in Bhopal and Jabalpur and there have been complaints time and again in the food supplied.