VIJAYAWADA: The revamped mid-day meals in all government schools across the State will be launched on January 21. The government is spending Rs 1,300 crore a year for the scheme.
Emphasising that the quality of food served under the mid-day meal scheme in schools across the State should be uniform, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy directed officials concerned to implement a four-tier quality control and food safety system for the scheme.
In a review meeting on the implementation of mid-day meal scheme, Amma Vodi and Nadu-Nedu with Education Minister Adimulapu Suresh and senior officials at the his camp office on Saturday, Jagan said the taste of food served either in Pulivendula or Amaravati or elsewhere should be uniform.
He asked the officials to include mothers of three students in the school-level parents' committee to test the quality of midday meals as part of a feedback mechanism. The school headmaster should be a part of the committee and the members of the parents' committee should have meals along with the students.
The committee was also entrusted with the monitoring of the Nadu-Nedu scheme and sanitation upkeep in schools.
The Chief Minister said at the second tier of the quality control system, officials of village/ward secretariats will test the quality of the food served, followed by women SHGs at third level and the fourth level monitoring will be done by SERP or similar organisation.
He asked the officials to pay Rs 3,000 as wage to mid-day meal ayahs and clear bills of the ingredients procured for the scheme through the green channel. Officials explained that an exclusive midday meals mobile application is being developed using artificial intelligence. At present, it is being developed for menu control and shortly it will be upgraded for quality control.
The officials, who were directed to invite tenders at divisional level for procurement of eggs or midday meals, informed the CM that they are going for reverse tendering for the same. The officers were asked to allow poultry farmers to participate in tenders.
Supply of Chikki will be entrusted to SHGs, who will be trained in the preparation of the same. Elaborating the importance of the Nadu-Nedu scheme in schools, Jagan said people should be convinced that sending their children to government school will pave way for a better future. He directed officials to release revolving funds to schools.
Three designs of paintings for schools were brought to the notice of the CM, who asked the officials to procure school furniture, paints, fans, bathroom fittings, etc through centralised procurement. Officials said that 40,19,323 mothers were given Rs 6,028.98 crore under Amma Vodi and another 2,12,775 applications are being scrutinised.