The sordid story of mismanagement of Mid-Day Meal scheme by the Education Department authorities, bordering virtually on corruption, is what has been told by the media including this paper several times in the past. The scheme was introduced in the State in 2004 with the main purpose of providing nutritious diet to the students. This was part of national health promotion scheme. In particular, students coming from weaker sections of society were to benefit from the scheme. In its performance audit report submitted by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the highest auditing body of the Government, to the Parliament, a very gloomy and disappointing picture of the performance of State school authorities has been painted. It says that the guidelines provided by the Ministry of Human Resource Development and the norms established have not been adhered to. Apathy of the Government has been to the extent that the CAG feels the State Government is not interested in promoting the scheme. What will be more discouraging than to know that the Government has allowed mismanagement of the scheme to go on without questioning? The worst is that the State Government has not at all acted on the suggestions and guidelines stated by the CAG in its previous performance report. That means the State Government has no intention of making the Mid Day Meal a success project.
CAG Report has focuses on three main aspects of inept and inefficient handling of the scheme. One is the declining trend in the number of enrolments besides willful distortion of numbers of students admitted and served with Mid Day Meal. Second is an inconsistency between the figures of the Ministry and the J&K Government in regard not only the number of enrolments but also in regard to the days in a month/year on which Mid Day Meal has been served. The third and last area brought under criticism is the financial aspect. After reading the report between the lines, the impression one gathers is that a comprehensive fraud and scam sticks out its head and aspersions can be cast on so many functionaries not necessarily only in Education Department, which, of course, is the primary recipient of funds and operational directives. By showing exaggerated number of students with upper trend, obviously the purpose was to elicit more food and funds from the Central Ministry. However, when the actual number of enrolled students in school records provided by the Ministry is compared with the numbers provided by J&K State, there is big variation. This creates many doubts and the CAG has very explicitly stated the inconsistency. Secondly, in terms of the quality of cooked food supplied, the Ministry of HRD had specifically directed that samples of cooked food have to be checked randomly by the listed laboratories and authenticated by them. The State Education Department has never lifted a sample and got it checked by the accredited laboratories. The CAG has observed that by not sending the samples of cooked food to the laboratories for testing, the State Government has exposed the health of the kids to the dangers of contaminated food leading to food poisoning. State authorities have become callous by not caring for the health of the small kids. This brings defamation to the Government because people lose trust in the Government and the Government itself is responsible for that ugly scenario. How can the State absolve itself of the charge that it has flouted the guidelines of Ministry of Human Resource Development, which explicitly state that in order to ensure quality, safety and hygiene under the Mid Day Meal scheme, the States are required to engage CSIR institutes/National Accreditation Board for Laboratories recognized labs in order to put sample checking of MDM. The Report covers the years 2008 onwards till the end of 2014. Details of financial irregularities have not bee spelt out in the report though it has been mentioned how much money has been spent on paying for cooking the meals. It runs into crores in Kashmir as well as in Jammu divisions.
Mid Day Meal scheme is scandalized in the State. Undoubtedly, the civil society feels that there are many skeletons in the cupboard. It would be in fitness of things if the Government orders impartial inquiry into the entire episode of Mid Day Meal scheme in Jammu and Kashmir. When the scheme was a success story in the rest of the States, why was it turned into a mess in our State and who is responsible for all this mess. Somebody has to be held responsible and brought to books.
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