TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The new 127 self help groups (SHG) selected by government under the Mid Day Meal Scheme will begin supplying meals from February 1.
Director of Education, Anil Powar Monday said that in addition to the 127 SHGs, five schools have also given their proposal to supply meals through their PTAs.
According to officials, the new list of 127 SHGs will begin their services from February 1 even as the all new menu proposed under the scheme will not be implemented in this academic year.
“We will continue with the old menu,” said Powar pointing that one item from the list, namely sheera, has been struck down. The department proposes to serve students pav-bhaji and vegetable pulao for the current academic year and will revise the menu from the next academic year.
Powar disclosed that the Education department has proposed to introduce more pulses in the new menu from the next academic year and is working out its costs. He disclosed that there would be strict monitoring and evaluation of the SHGs under the MDMS to ensure that they comply with all safety parameters.
Initially as many as 144 SHGs were in the fray for selection under the MDMS. “Many did not meet the standards as prescribed for infrastructure (kitchens) and had to be rejected,” the education director said. The new list which has been approved by the government, we are told, are sufficient for implementing the scheme even as the department intends to have more groups in the near future.
So far only five schools approached the department expressing willingness to implement MDMS through their PTAs and have procured necessary licenses from FDA.
