The last time the Union government hiked allocation to the State for its flagship midday meal scheme — Akshara Dasoha — was two years ago. It increased the allocation by 7.5 per cent per meal cost in 2013.
Thanks to the steep rise in the prices of some food commodities, the Department of Public Instruction is planning to seek a hike for 2015–16 in December, sources told The Hindu . The proposal may be forwarded to the State-level committee that monitors the implementation of the programme.
The allocation is usually revised once in two years. In exceptional cases, when there is an urgent need to modify the scale of allocation, the meal cost has been revised to ensure smooth running of the programme.
The Union government funds 75 per cent of the expenditure under the scheme for classes 1 to 8. The State government bears the entire cost for classes 9 and 10.
Barring the cost of rice supplied by the Food Corporation of India, Rs. 3.59 per meal per child is spent on those studying in classes 1 to 5. Similarly, the cost incurred on preparing meal per child in classes 6 to 8 is Rs. 5.38. For those studying in classes 9 to 10, the cost of meal per child (with rice) is Rs. 7.12.
In March this year, dealers who had the contract of supplying toor to schools sought an increase in the ceiling for the dal because of the rise in its price. This led to uncertainty in its supply and stock of toor in schools had exhausted. Schools were asked to buy toor locally with the available fund and get it reimbursed.
