As per the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, which feeds 12 crore children every day, the food prepared has to be tasted by two to three adults, including at least one teacher, before it is served to the children.
If this rule had been followed by the school in Saran, it might have saved 22 lives.
The elaborate guidelines that have been put in place to ensure supply of healthy food to the children, bar reheating of the meals.
The teachers and cooks are also required to ensure that the ingredients used for cooking the meals are free from adulteration and pest infestation and should be used only after proper cleaning and washing.
The Centre has now sent samples of the food that killed 22 children, to the Central Forensic laboratory and is probing whether guidelines of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS) programme were followed in the school.
HRD Minister MM Pallam Raju said it is the responsibility of the district administration and village heads to ensure proper implementation of the MDMS.
Raju said initial reports about the incident indicate that it was a case of food contamination and has asked States to exercise caution while implementing the scheme.
While investigations by the Bihar Government are on, the HRD Ministry, which is the nodal
agency of the MDMS, said other details would be known only after completion of the probe.
The Central team, led by Additional Secretary Amarjit Singh, which has been sent to the school, is likely to brief Pallam Raju on Thursday. The Ministry has also sought a report from the Bihar Government on the tragedy.
“The food samples have been sent to the forensic laboratory and an FIR has been lodged against the school’s head teacher. It is a very sad incident and we are deeply pained over the loss of young lives. It is an aberration that this has happened. Although it is an unfortunate incident, it’s not a recurring thing,” Raju said.
School flouted tasting norms, kids lost lives Of the 65,977 kitchens-cum-stores sanctioned for Bihar, only 44,159 are in place, making just 67 per cent of the MDMS infrastructure complete.
While School Education Secretary Rajarshi Bhattacharya spoke to Bihar Chief Secretary about the incident, HRD Ministry Additional Secretary Amarjit Singh is already there to collect a first-hand report about the incident. “The food was prepared at the school and the students were served dal, rice, vegetables and soyabean. We have focused on the quality of the mid-day meal programme right from the beginning. Even when the gas prices had gone up, we had ensured that the quality of the mid-day meal did not suffer,” Raju said.