The Petroleum Ministry has turned down a request of the HRD Ministry to allow supply of subsidised LPG cylinders for the mid-day meal programme.
“The request of HRD Ministry has not been agreed to,” said Minister of State for HRD Shashi Tharoor.
In a written reply in Rajya Sabha, he said Petroleum Ministry has advised that the additional burden could be compensated to the HRD Ministry through the budgetary provision for mid-day meal scheme.
The cap on LPG cylinder will put an additional burden of Rs 653 crore on the scheme.
Worried that the mid-day meal programme could be hit by the cap on subsidised LPG cylinders, the then HRD Minister Kapil Sibal had written to the Petroleum Ministry in October suggesting that it consider providing subsidised LPG cylinders for the current fiscal year.
He had also suggested that the decision on whether to make an exception for the scheme could be revisited at the time of finalising the Budget for 2013-14.
If the subsidy available for the scheme was withdrawn, the Centre would need to compensate the States for the increased cooking fuel cost.
“The government would, therefore, have to bear the expenses on fuel cost in the form of subsidy for LPG cylinders or in the form of compensation for the increased cooking cost,” Mr. Sibal had said.
Recently, HRD Minister M.M. Pallam Raju had said, “We are still working for a solution and I am sure that there will be one shortly. We will not compromise on the quality and quantity of food.”
Keywords: mid-day meals, LPG subsidy cap, HRD ministry
Schools and colleges are the right places to popularise the waste into
fuel gobar gas plants and methane production plants which the
Government is attempting to encourage.A working model shoiwn in the
schools will go a long way in supplying enough fuel for cooking
also.Solar cookers also will help in demonstrating cheap cooking.It is
no use if even the schools are using fossil fuels.
At least for the mid day meal scheme, the subsidized LPG cylinders
should be supplied. The amount of financial burden that this scheme is
going to encounter because of non subsidized LPG, might provoke cost
cutting measures. Seriously affecting the quality of food supplies and
also skipping of mid day meals on few days. Its a matter which should be
addressed immediately. Or else the overall hygiene of the meal provided
might come down.
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