Delhi Rozi Roti Adhikar Abhiyan Sends Legal Notice To Delhi Govt Seeking Resumption Of Hot Cooked 'Midday Meals' In Schools

A legal notice has been sent by Delhi Rozi Roti Adhikar Abhiyan (DRRAA) to Delhi Government and three Municipal Corporations regarding non recommencement of hot cooked midday meals in run schools in the city, despite the reopening of schools for classes I to VIII since 14th February, 2022.

Filed through Advocate Prashant Bhushan, the legal notice states that the hot cooked meals under Scheme of Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) are not being provided to children in schools and that the parents have been asked to sign consent forms stating that they agree to send their children to school with their own food and water.

The notice places reliance on the National Food Security Act, 2013 and Midday Meal Rules 2015 which make provision for hot cooked meal in all schools run by local bodies or Government and Government aided schools for children studying in classes I to VIII.

Reliance has also been placed upon the Supreme Court judgment in PUCL v. Union of India dated November 28, 2011 which directed the state governments and the union territories to implement the mid-day meal scheme by giving each child in each Government and Government-aided primary school a prepared mid-day meal.

It has thus been stated that midday meals are mandatory for children so as to ensure every child's right to adequate nutrition.

"Only in the event of some contingency when the meal cannotbe provided, there is provision for a food security allowance. However this provision is only to be used when there is a rare occasion of unavailability of food grains, absence of cook, etc. When schools have resumed with physical classes and activities in the premises for all the students, there is no reason for not restarting provision of hot cooked mid-day meals in the schools. There is no justification for the schools to not provide the midday meal which is a statutory right of each child in the age groups of 6-14 years," the notice reads.

In this backdrop, the legal notice avers that despite various advisories and guidelines of the Ministry of Human Resource Development and the directions of the Supreme Court, such provisions regarding hot cooked meal since March 2020 have been extremely erratic in Delhi.

"For schools run by the Delhi government, initially only a paltry amount of cash transfer was provided on account of cooking cost and no dry ration was supplied. From July 2020 it was announced that dry rations would be provided, however the government failed to put in place a fixed and well publicised schedule for distribution of foodgrains, resultingin scores of children neither receiving any dry rations nor any food security allowance on a monthly basis, thereby denying them their statutory right," the notice reads.

It has been highlighted that the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) issued a notice to the Director (Education) of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation for not allocating dry ration as mid-day meal in its schools for 17 months.

Reference is also made to a letter letter dated November 16, 2021 issued by the Ministry of Education advising the resumption of hot cooked mid-day meals in schools as states had eased restrictions and were beginning to open schools. The said letter highlighted guidelines for safe resumption of serving of hot cooked mid day meals in schools.

It has also been stated in the legal notice that the direction to resume hot cooked mid-day meals in schools as the schools resumed physical functioning was reiterated by the Ministry vide its letter dated December 21, 2021.

"The letter noted that in case hot cooked meal could not be served, the requisite quantity of foodgrains and cooking cost in the form of Direct Benefit Transfer must be provided within a period of 15 days to ensure timely nutrition," the notice reads.

It adds "In such a scenario, wherein foodgrains have been provided for nearly 13 lakh children till March 2022, and directions have been issued by the Government of India for resumption of MDM in the form of hot cooked meals as schools reopen, there is no basis for denial of hot cooked meals to eligible children in schools run by local bodies or government and government aided schools. The implementing agencies in Delhi have made a mockery of the MDM scheme by failing to provide adequate and timely hot cooked meals or Food Security Allowance in lieu of a hot cooked meal for the last 23 months when schools were closed on account of COVID 19."

Accordingly, the implementing agencies are called upon to provide midday meal in the form of a hot cooked meal for all eligible children with immediate effect.

It has also been added that in the event of non compliance of the same, Delhi Rozi Roti Adhikar Abhiyan will approach the Court, seeking accountability of the the concerned officials and departments for violation of the statutory right of children to a hot cooked meal during school hours.

Click Here To Read Legal Notice