Reports

• Sixth Report (December 2005)
• Fifth Report (August 2004)
• Follow-up to the Fourth Report (West Bengal) (January 2004)
• Special Report (Follow-up to the Fourth Report) (November 2003)
• Fourth Report (August 2003)
• Third Report (May 2003)
• Second Report (March 2003)

Sixth Report

[Full report]

The extract on mid-day meals from the Commissioner's sixth report is available here.

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Fifth Report

[Full report]

The fifth report contains a long section on the mid-day meal programme, which is extracted here.

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Follow-up to the Fourth Report (West Bengal)

[Full report]

Specific recommendations:

2.3 Cooked Meals Under MDMS:The State Government should cover all 21 schools in closed gardens with cooked meals under MDMS immediately.

This issue has been taken up with the state administration on a number of occasions, however little action has been forthcoming. Though the Supreme Court had issued the directive, more than two years back, the state is yet to implement the scheme in all government and government aided primary schools. The state has often cited lack of resources as the reason for non-compliance and token implementation was initiated as late as January 2003. However it appears a question of priority since many of the southern states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have covered all eligible schools under the programme.

At present only 1900 schools across nine districts are being provided the benefit. Of 9,764,181 children enrolled in 2003-2004, only 178,054 are being covered under the cooked mid day meal programme, i.e. less than 2% of the intended beneficiaries. However despite the fact that Jalpaiguri is one of those nine, partial implementation has meant that the tea estates covered in the report have not been covered. This issue was raised again at a recent meeting of the Commissioner Mr. Sankaran with the Chief Secretary, in September this year where the Commissioner reiterated again that the Courts order must be implemented in all eligible schools.

* We therefore urge the Hon'ble Court to direct the state to implement cooked midday meal scheme in all the schools in the closed tea gardens immediately.

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Special Report (follow-up to Fourth Report)

[Full report]

Mid-day Meal Scheme

1.1 There is much evidence of the benefits provided by cooked meals both in terms of higher enrolment rates and better nutritional status of children (including that of the girl child). It was in this view that the Honourable Court ordered all the states to provide cooked meals in all government and government aided primary schools.

1.2 However recent reports show that the middaymeal scheme has not been started at all in the states of Bihar,Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal. Some states like Jharakhand and Orissa have interpreted an earlier order of the Court directing them to start the scheme in at least one fourth of the districts,to justifythe non-implementation in the entire state. Still other states like West Bengal have implemented the scheme in a few blocks and within these,onlyin a few schools. Further communication reveals that little effort is being taken to ensure that the coverage is universalised to cover all eligible schools.

1.3 We have also been informed that in Mizoram,parents are being asked to contribute towards the costs of mid-daymeals. Government orders to this effect appear to have been issued,asking teachers to extract payments or donations from parents to meet the costs of fuel and utensils.

In this light we advise the Honourable Court to:

A. Direct the states that are yet to initiate cooked mid-day meals in primary schools as well as those that have implemented it partially to comply with the order of November 28,2001.

B. Issue clarificatory orders that the order dated 8 M ay 2003 permitting partial implementation was only a temporary measure and the intention is to ensure universal coverage of all government and government-assisted primaryschools with middaymeal scheme immediately.

C. Direct that the conversion costs needed to provide a hot nutritious meal are not recovered in any form or percentage from the parents of the children enrolled in these schools.

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Fourth Report (August 2003)

[Full report]

SECTION 2: UPDATE OF LATEST ISSUES

2.1 Mid-day Meals

1. The map given on page 1A a conveys the reach of cooked mid-day meals in India today. According to recent data supplied by the Department of Elementary Education and Literacy, 50 million children are covered. This is a substantial achievement (indeed, it is by far the largest mid-day meal programme in the world), yet the coverage is still far from universal. We note with particular concern that mid-day meals have not been initiated in Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh, three states with abysmal levels of schooling and nutrition. We shall return to this.
2. Much has been learnt from a recent field survey of mid-day meals initiated by the Centre for Equity Studies, New Delhi.[1] The survey suggests that mid-day meals have made a promising start around the country. In each of the three sample areas (three districts each in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and north Karnataka), mid-day meals are being served regularly in all primary schools. However, the survey also draws attention to the fact that the achievements of mid-day meals have been seriously compromised, if not defeated, by inadequate quality and low budgets. There is an urgent need for better infrastructure (e.g. cooking sheds in all the schools), improved facilities (e.g. safe drinking water everywhere), closer monitoring (e.g. regular inspections), and other quality safeguards.
3. Even more importantly, the content of the mid-day meals needs to be improved if school lunches are to have a significant impact on child nutrition. Indeed, the same survey draws attention to vast, unused opportunities for enhancing children’s health by providing nutritious food at school. Linking mid-day meals with related inputs such as de-worming, micronutrient supplementation, and education on improving hygiene can further enhance the health effects of this scheme. These opportunities have been used to some extent in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Gujarat and a few other states. However, in most states the content of mid-day meals leaves much to be desired, and mid-day meals are divorced from the larger goal of improving children’s nutrition and health. In Rajasthan, for instance, Ghoogri (a spartan gruel of boiled wheat and gur) is being served day after day, and this monotonous menu has started to provoke adverse reactions among children, aside from causing occasional stomachaches.
4. In short, qualitative improvements in mid-day meal programmes are urgently required. This, in turn, calls for adequate financial resources. To illustrate, Rajasthan spends only 50 paise per child per day on mid-day meals (not counting the cost of grain, which is supplied free of cost by the central government). Shoestring programmes of this kind miss a vital opportunity to enhance children’s nutrition in a highly cost-effective manner.
5. Some states claim that they lack financial resources to introduce or improve mid-day meal programmes. However, close examination of state budgets does not substantiate this claim. For instance, in 2001-02 the states received roughly Rs. 1, 35, 000 crores from the three central sources alone. Further, in the case of resource-rich states like Delhi, there is really no excuse for failing to implement the order in full, without delay. Other states also have adequate resources that could be used to implement the Order without delay. The state of Uttar Pradesh collected an extra Rs. 2,000 crores in the last financial year in taxes alone. Bihar failed to utilise as much as Rs. 1,048 crores in just four development schemes during the Ninth Plan. Unutilised resources such as these can easily be used for a good quality mid-day meal programme. It seems therefore that non-implementation is more a result of administrative and political inertia rather than a lack of funds. State governments should not be allowed to evade their responsibility to find resources even if it means impositions of special cess, taxes etc.
6. Time frame for mid-day meals: In its last order (8 May 2003), the bench directed Bihar to implement the scheme in at-least ten districts and in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and others in at-least one fourth of the districts. While this was intended to be a reminder of the need for prompt action in this regard, it should not be interpreted as a relaxation of the earlier order (dated 28 November 2001) directing state governments to introduce mid-day meals in all government and government-aided primary schools. Nor should it be interpreted as a licence to confine mid-day meals to the said number of districts. However it appears that this is what has happened. Given that this order should have been implemented from the start of the current academic year, we are sorry to report that some state governments have been extremely slow in implementing the direction of the Honourable Court. UP is considering implementing the scheme only in six districts of the State, while Bihar is likely to implement it in only three blocks of each of the ten districts that it was supposed to cover. In most of the other states including Jharkhand, we have received no feedback from letters sent. This pattern is all the more serious, as these are states where hunger is endemic. We advise the Court to reaffirm the order calling for mid-day meals to be introduced in all primary schools, and to clarify that it is only as a matter of good will, and specifically for resource-poor states, that the Court will tolerate partial implementation of mid-day meals in the very short term.
7. Before concluding on mid-day meals, we must highlight another important issue, namely caste discrimination. Specifically, survey reports suggest that in many states, Dalits are prevented from working as cooks in primary schools. This is a gross violation of the fundamental right to equality and freedom from discrimination as well as the constitutional proscription of untouchability. Firm guidelines are needed to ensure that Dalits get a fair share of appointments as cooks and helpers in the mid-day meal programmes, as is already being done in Karnataka. Karnataka’s guidelines in this respect have met with some opposition from upper-caste parents, but this is not adequate reason for a loss of nerve. Indeed, there are indications that upper-caste opposition, such as it is, tends to wear out quite rapidly if the guidelines are firmly enforced.

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Third Report (May 2003)

[Full report]

SECTION 3: STATUS OF FOOD-RELATED SCHEMES

3.1 Mid-day Meals

As stated earlier, the court has directed all state governments to introduce cooked mid-day meals in all government and government-assisted primary schools within six months of 28 November, 2001. The importance of this direction cannot be overstated. Indeed, earlier experience (notably in Tamil Nadu) demonstrates that nutritious mid-day meals at school can be a highly effective way of protecting children from hunger. Mid-day meals also boost school attendance, especially among girls. Further, mid-day meals are not very expensive.

As far as the implementation of the court order is concerned, there are both positive and negative aspects to report. On the positive side, cooked mid-day meals are firmly on their way to being introduced throughout the country. As per recent submissions of the relevant governments, mid-day meals being implemented fully in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and in substantial parts of other states including Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal. It is being partially implemented in Chattisgarh, Delhi, Orissa, and Punjab, but not implemented at all in Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

Early evaluations of these programmes point to significant achievements, including substantial increases in school attendance as well as protecting children from extreme hunger in drought-affected areas. Having said this, there are also serious concerns, including the following:

1. Most states missed the six-month deadline for introducing mid-day meals.
2. Several states (notably Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh) are yet to introduce mid-day meals.
3. In many of the complying states, the quality of the mid-day meal programme leaves much to be desired. Examples of qualitative lapses include: (a) low nutritious content of the mid-day meal; (b) the same menu being served day after day; (c) lack of basic facilities such as cooking sheds and storage space; (d) misappropriation of food or funds by vested interests. These are just a few examples.

I also wish to draw the attention of the court to the following:

1. The potential for using mid-day meals as a means of protecting children from undernutrition is vastly underutilized. Earlier experience shows that substantial results can be obtained, at relatively low cost, by combining nutritious mid-day meals with supplementary health and nutrition services such as deworming, health check-ups, vitamin supplementation, etc. This has been done to some extent in the more “active” states, such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala. There is a case for going much further in that direction.
2. There is also a strong case for the continued provision of cooked mid-day meals during the school vacations, especially in drought-affected areas where the school meal is often the only square meal in the day for deprived children. Rajasthan has made a provision in its annual budget for the extension of mid-day meals in summer this year. It should be noted here that Tamil Nadu provides food on all days through the year.
3. There is enormous scope for qualitative improvements in the design and implementation of mid-day meal programmes.

I shall continue reporting on the status of mid-day meals from time to time. Considering both the strong potential of this scheme, and the limitations of present arrangements, it is essential for the court to keep a close watch on the progress of mid-day meals, and to deal firmly with any violations of its order. The first priority is to deal with states that are yet to initiate mid-day meals, almost 12 months after the deadline stipulated in the court order of 28 November, 2001. I urge the court to consider ways of holding these states (especially the hunger-ridden states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh accountable to this inexcusable lapse.

SECTION 5: CONCLUDING RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Mid-day Meals

1. I advise the court to request state governments that have not complied with the order on mid day meals to submit affidavits explaining why mid-day meals are not being provided in all government and government-assisted primary schools, as per the interim order of 28 November 2001. Further, these governments should be firmly directed to initiate mid-day meals by early July (the beginning of the next school year) at the latest.
2. I advise the court to direct all state governments to continue providing mid-day meals during the summer vacations in drought-affected areas (and to consider doing the same in other areas also).
3. I advise the court to direct the states to ensure that the basic facilities for the programme are provided for including, helpers, cooks, space for storage and cooking, etc.

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Second Report (March 2003)

[Full report]

Part I: INTRODUCTION AND REPORT OF ACTIVITIES

The Hon'ble Supreme Court has rightly been giving a lot of importance to the mid-day meal scheme. The scheme reaches an important target group and the effectiveness of cooked mid-day meal programme is well established. The Court had asked all the States and Union Territories to introduce cooked mid-day meals in all government and government aided schools latest by May 28, 2002. This order has unfortunately been violated by many States. I have been regularly corresponding with the States and have urged them to introduce cooked mid-day meal programme at the earliest. I have also reminded constantly those in violation of the order of November 28, 2001. Many states have shown a positive response by starting the programme in with full or partial coverage. Some states, in particular Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand have still been unable to start the scheme in any part of the State at all. Given the importance of the mid-day meal programme, I have a detailed section on it in this report. A communication was sent to the States and Union Territories regarding the impending report telling them what I know of the status of implementation in their state. I have taken into account the views of the States where I have received a response.

Part II: STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF VARIOUS SCHEMES COVERED IN THE INTERIM ORDERS OF PUCL Vs UoI and Ors

I wrote a letter in December 2002 to the Secretary, Department of Elementary Education, regarding the poor performance of MDMS. Hereto annexed and marked Annexure E is a copy of the said letter. Many states have shown a positive sign by starting cooked mid-day meals with part or full coverage. Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh are the only two states that started providing mid-day meals after the order of the court, with full coverage. Gujarat has had a comprehensive mid-day meal programme for government schools. In compliance of the court’s order, it has included government-aided schools in its coverage. Many States and Union Territories have started a token programme covering a small proportion of schools. Most of these have professed keenness in expanding the programme soon. What is regrettable is that some states do not even have a token programme. These include Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. They have cited financial, logistic and administrative reasons for the non-implementation of the scheme. It cannot be emphasised enough that the programme can be of immense benefit in these states.

[Table]

Finance has been cited by most states as the chief problem in implementing cooked midday meal programme. Apart from financial problems, many states have expressed fears of administrative and logistical problems in implementing the scheme. A few have noted special problems pertaining to their state, and have made some special requests to enable them to implement the scheme. I note them below: a) Some North Eastern States have requested that they be allowed to use locally procured food grains since the costs of transportation in the difficult train from the single FCI godown in the area are quite high. b) Some drought-prone and North Eastern States have requested that the Centre allocate more funds towards the implementation of the scheme.

PART III: PRAYERS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

From my correspondence with the states, field visits and analysis of information on various schemes, I would like to make the following recommendations.

The states that have not started providing cooked mid day meals in any scale should be held accountable for total violation of the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court. They should also be directed to implement the programme immediately. The states that have started the scheme in a token way should extend the scheme to cover all government and government aided primary schools in the state. Towards this, I request the Court to provide the following directions:

1. All States and Union Territories that are not providing cooked mid day meal in all government and government aided primary schools should give a credible time frame, no later than the starting of next academic year, within which they have to provide cooked mid day meals in all government and government aided primary schools.
2. Within two months, all these states should make an adequate budgetary provision, call for tenders for utensils and other equipment, start an appointment process for cooks and helpers, and prepare guidelines for full implementation of the scheme.
3. Permit me to set up an expert team to prepare a budget for implementing the cooked mid day meal programme based on existing model programmes in other states. The budget prepared by the team shall be considered by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in case the States fail to make financial provisions by one month.
4. Direct all states to continue the mid day meal programme during the summer months in drought-affected districts, to protect children from acute hunger during those months. Direct the Government of India to provide grain free of cost, based on the usual norms, to enable this extension during summer months.

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