The Court was hearing a petition filed last year, which alleged that school principals were forced to pay out of pocket to meet the expenses of the noon-meal scheme due to poor fund allocation.
On July 2, the Court was told that the State government has now allocated ₹232 crores to meet the expenses of providing supplementary nutrition as part of the mid-day meal scheme for the year 2024-2025.
The State’s government pleader added that he would get instructions on how this amount is proposed to be distributed to schools and the timeline within which these funds would be disbursed.
Justice Ziyad Rahman AA recorded the State’s submission but proceeded to note that there is nothing on record to show what concrete steps have been taken to implement the mid-day meal scheme.
Therefore, the Court has now asked the Central and State governments to file a statement on this aspect of the matter.
“The learned DSGI, as well as the learned Government Pleader, are directed to get instructions as to the steps they have already taken in pursuance to guidelines for providing Noon-meals under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman,” the Court ordered.
Source: Barandbench
