THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Centre has slashed Rs 42.84 crore from the first instalment of its share of funds for implementing the noon meal scheme in schools in the state, General Education Minister V Sivankutty has said.
In a statement, the minister said Rs 284.31 crore was proposed as the Central share for the noon meal scheme in the current fiscal. After taking into account the unspent amount of Rs 32.34 crore of the previous year, the Centre was to disburse Rs 251.97 crore this year to the state.
As per the guidelines of the PM-POSHAN scheme, 60% of the Central share (Rs 151.18 crore) had to be disbursed as the first instalment and the remaining 40% as the second.However, the Centre has slashed Rs 42.84 crore and allocated only Rs 108.34 crore, the minister said. Sivankutty alleged that the Centre ‘unilaterally’ changed the number of payment instalments from two to four, with 25% of funds to be released in each instalment.
“Due to this unilateral move by the Centre, timely availability of funds cannot be ensured. This has created a crisis in the implementation of the noon meal scheme,” he said. The minister said the Rs 32.34 crore of Central funds remained unspent last year as the number of students proposed under the project dipped from 29.74 lakh to 28.40 lakh.
Also, the instructional days dropped to 199 from 200 in the primary section and to 202 from 220 in the upper primary section. Sivankutty added that Central funds for the noon meal scheme have remained unspent during the tenure of the UDF government as well.
Noon meal scheme data
Central share proposed for 2023-24: Rs 284.31 cr
Central fund unspent by state in 2022-23: Rs 32.34 cr
Revised Central share for 2023-24: Rs 251.97 cr
Amount state expected as first instalment: Rs 151.18 cr
Amount Centre disbursed: Rs 108.34 cr
Arrears: Rs 42.84 cr