Over 6,25,000 students are benefiting from the Central Government-funded Mid Day Meal Scheme in 15,197 schools of Himachal Pradesh.
A sum of Rs 100 crore has been earmarked for the nutrition scheme during this fiscal, said State Elementary Education Department Director Ashok Sharma in a statement. He said, “About 80 per cent of the funds for the scheme would be provided by the Government of India.”
The scheme was started for the students of primary schools on September 1, 2004, and for upper primary schools (class 6-8) on July 1, 2008, in all Government and Government-aided schools. The elementary Education Department has constituted School Management Committees (SMCs) in all the schools for effective implementation of the scheme.
High calorific value food is being cooked in separately constructed kitchen-cum-stores in the schools for the students. A total of 14,959 kitchen-cum-stores have been sanctioned for this purpose, of which 13,638 have been completed, said an official spokesperson. Currently, 23,793 cook-cum-helpers have been engaged by the SMCs to cook the food, 80 per cent of them are women.
Ingredients used for cooking, food grain, pulses, vegetables, cooking oil and condiments are being procured at the school level by the SMCs. This has helped the teachers to concentrate on their regular teaching job.
“In the interest of environmental protection, smokeless chullahs are being preferred and 84 schools have lPG connections. Water purifiers are being made available in the schools in a phased manner,” added the spokesperson.