Alison Saldanha : Thu Sep 27 2012, 01:14 hrs | The Indian EXPRESS
Citing quality concern, BMC has decided to discontinue supply of khichdi by women self-help groups to municipal schools under the midday meal scheme.
Additional Municipal Commissioner Mohan Adtani said the contract to feed the over 4.5 lakh students attending the 1,174 BMC primary schools would be awarded to ISKCON Food Relief Foundation (IFRF) and Akshaya Patra in November.
“The quality of food provided by Akshaya Patra and IFRF is better. We will pay them whatever funds the central government provides BMC under the midday meal scheme.”
Adtani said eight to nine central kitchens would be set up in the city to prepare midday meals. “As it is a matter of feeding so many students, we will continue to work with self-help groups for some time.”
The Annamrita food programme run by ISKCON caters to the midday meal scheme through 24 centres in 10 states. Akshaya Patra Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation, runs midday meal programme for underprivileged schoolchildren in nine states.
Uttar Pradesh is the most recent addition to its list.
“The quality of food provided to BMC school students is very poor. This is a welcome change. ISKCON and Akshaya Patra will take over the meal programme on the condition that BMC provides space for kitchens. They will construct kitchens themselves on BMC land,” said Samajwadi Party leader Rais Shaikh after a meeting of BMC group leaders.
After corporators raised the issue of poor quality khichdi at the August 27 BMC general body meeting for over 90 minutes, with some even bringing samples for the Mayor and additonal municipal commissioner, Adtani had said, “ISKCON has agreed to supply food to all BMC students but has sought at least three months to set up kitchens. The state government is considering setting up a central kitchen to supply khichdi to all BMC schools. We will have a meeting in 15 days to decide future course of action.”
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