8 mid-day meal kitchens will be ready by September: Chandigarh to Centre
Naina Mishra
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 6
The UT Education Department has reportedly committed to the Centre that eight government schools will be ready with cluster-based mid-day meal kitchens by the end of September.
Meal distribution in City
Three centralised kitchens – Dr Ambedkar Institute of Hotel Management, Sector 42, Chandigarh Institute of Hotel Management, Sector 42, and Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Corporation (CITCO), Sector 17 — prepare meals for 91 schools.
Seven school-based cluster kitchens at government schools in Sector 10, 15, 26, 44, 47 and Government Model High School in Sector 38 and Sector 42 serve mid-day meal to 31 schools.
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The department had proposed the eight cluster kitchens in government schools under the Central Government’s Mid-Day Meal Scheme in October last year.
A senior official said the work was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the construction would soon be resumed.
The schools where kitchens have been proposed at are GMSSS, 20-B; GMHS, Karsan; Government School, Raipur Kalan (new building); GMHS, Pocket No 10, Mani Majra; GMHS, Sector 29; GMSSS, Sector 40-B; GMHS, Sector 12 and GMSSS, Dhanas.
The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) had released an assistance of Rs 23.34 lakh for the construction of 10 kitchen-cum-stores in Chandigarh.
Till December last year, the construction of seven kitchens was completed and work for three kitchen-cum-stores was in progress.
Besides, the UT Administration has sanctioned five kitchens for Rs4.72 lakh from their own resources. The construction work of these five cluster kitchens is also in progress.
During the Programme Approval Board (PAB) meeting held on June 16, the UT Administration had assured the Centre to complete the construction of all eight kitchens by September. The new kitchens will be cluster based and will also serve food to their own students and to a few neighborhood government schools.
At present, there are seven school-based kitchens that are providing mid-day meal to students of government schools, along with three centralised kitchens.
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