The Hindu : National : Food Ministry’s order upsets HRD Ministry

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Saturday, May 17, 2008
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Food Ministry’s order upsets HRD Ministry

Anita Joshua

NEW DELHI: Delay on the part of State governments to pick up their allocation for the Mid-Day Meal programme in April has cost them dear. As per a directive of the Union Food Ministry, the allocation for the first month of this fiscal has lapsed; a decision that has not gone down too well with the Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry.

While HRD Ministry appreciates the rationale in the Food Ministry’s contention that there should not be any retrospective lifting of foodgrains, it is of the view that the decision should not be forced upon States without a warning.

“States have to be ready”

“States have to be prepared for this as they have evolved their own schedules for lifting foodgrains from the Food Corporation of India . Normally, they lift stocks when they need it. Some lift the allocation for the Mid-Day Meal programme along with the stocks for the PDS . If this has to change, they should be given advance notice,” is the Ministry’s contention.

Arjun to write to Pawar

Upset by the manner in which this decision has been thrust upon the Ministry, Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh will soon write to Union Food Minister Sharad Pawar seeking a reconsideration of the order. Of the view that it is unfair of the Food Ministry and the FCI “to tell us in May that you cannot lift the allocation for April,” Ministry sources pointed out that April has generally been a month of low lifting for the Mid-Day Meal programme as there is invariably a surplus from the previous fiscal.

What has upset the HRD Ministry the most is that this directive comes at a time when it is making its own efforts to ensure against wastage in the Mid-Day Meal Programme. Since last year, the Ministry has been asking State Governments to report un-utilised amounts to the Centre so that it can be deducted from their respective requirements for the next fiscal.

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