Two MILLION children go hungry in Punjab as cash-strapped state scraps mid-day meal scheme and 'delays paying salaries to government staff'
India's bread basket state has no money to provide mid-day meals to more than 2 million schoolchildren. Teetering on the edge of a financial meltdown, the Punjab government has now ended its mid-day meal scheme for 21 lakh schoolchildren by the simple expedient of turning off the tap.
The state is so cash-strapped that it has not paid August salaries to its employees, a Mail Today investigation has revealed.
"We have not received August salaries till today. Earlier we used to get salaries on first day of the month but the situation became worse after March. July salaries were paid on August 7. No salary bills were passed from August 12 to August 31," said Jagdish Thakur, president of the State Ministerial Services Association, Amritsar. The government says salaries are being paid on time.
Sources said the state government has not released funds for mid-day meals in government and government-aided schools after July. The funds ear-marked for the mid-day meal scheme - the Central government grant plus the state's share - has been diverted to other heads.
Three-fourths of the scheme's cost is borne by the Central government, leaving only 25 per cent to be contributed by the state. Foodgrains are provided directly to schools, but pulses, vegetables, salt, oil, fuel and other commodities are purchased by the schools with a mid-day meal allowance.
Sources also said that the education department had recently asked schools and school management committees to make their own arrangements for mid-day meals. Some schools did make their own arrangements, but had to stop as bills piled up and grocery stores refused to supply on credit.
"We tried to push the scheme at our own level but now the grocery shops have refused to give us ration as the previous bills are still pending. We cannot run the scheme now," said R.P. Hazara, vice-president of the Government Teachers Union, Jalandhar.
Schools aren't entirely in the clear, with some reported to have spent mid-day meal allowances elsewhere. The government admits there is a problem, but says that funds have not been withheld. Principal Secretary, School Education, Anjali Bhawra said that the mid-day meal problem will be solved soon.
"There will be no problem now as the state government has agreed to release the funds. The state government so far has released funds worth Rs 70 crore for the mid-day meal scheme. The allegations that the state government has not released no funds this year are baseless," she said.
A top government officer said that funds released for the midday meal scheme are leftovers from 2012-13, and that the government has not released funds for 2013-14.
The state government had only spent Rs 162 crore out of Rs 226.68 crore (175.62 crore as Central government share and Rs 50.82 crore as state government contribution) earmarked for the scheme in 2011-12.
Two MILLION children go hungry in Punjab as cash-strapped state scraps mid-day meal scheme and 'delays paying salaries to government staff' | Mail Online
India's bread basket state has no money to provide mid-day meals to more than 2 million schoolchildren. Teetering on the edge of a financial meltdown, the Punjab government has now ended its mid-day meal scheme for 21 lakh schoolchildren by the simple expedient of turning off the tap.
The state is so cash-strapped that it has not paid August salaries to its employees, a Mail Today investigation has revealed.
"We have not received August salaries till today. Earlier we used to get salaries on first day of the month but the situation became worse after March. July salaries were paid on August 7. No salary bills were passed from August 12 to August 31," said Jagdish Thakur, president of the State Ministerial Services Association, Amritsar. The government says salaries are being paid on time.
Sources said the state government has not released funds for mid-day meals in government and government-aided schools after July. The funds ear-marked for the mid-day meal scheme - the Central government grant plus the state's share - has been diverted to other heads.
Three-fourths of the scheme's cost is borne by the Central government, leaving only 25 per cent to be contributed by the state. Foodgrains are provided directly to schools, but pulses, vegetables, salt, oil, fuel and other commodities are purchased by the schools with a mid-day meal allowance.
Sources also said that the education department had recently asked schools and school management committees to make their own arrangements for mid-day meals. Some schools did make their own arrangements, but had to stop as bills piled up and grocery stores refused to supply on credit.
"We tried to push the scheme at our own level but now the grocery shops have refused to give us ration as the previous bills are still pending. We cannot run the scheme now," said R.P. Hazara, vice-president of the Government Teachers Union, Jalandhar.
Schools aren't entirely in the clear, with some reported to have spent mid-day meal allowances elsewhere. The government admits there is a problem, but says that funds have not been withheld. Principal Secretary, School Education, Anjali Bhawra said that the mid-day meal problem will be solved soon.
"There will be no problem now as the state government has agreed to release the funds. The state government so far has released funds worth Rs 70 crore for the mid-day meal scheme. The allegations that the state government has not released no funds this year are baseless," she said.
A top government officer said that funds released for the midday meal scheme are leftovers from 2012-13, and that the government has not released funds for 2013-14.
The state government had only spent Rs 162 crore out of Rs 226.68 crore (175.62 crore as Central government share and Rs 50.82 crore as state government contribution) earmarked for the scheme in 2011-12.
Two MILLION children go hungry in Punjab as cash-strapped state scraps mid-day meal scheme and 'delays paying salaries to government staff' | Mail Online
isnt same state is giving free electricity ????![[Bregs]](/data/avatars/m/148/148509.jpg?1491816884){kind=avatar}
