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Monsoon session of Parliament: ‘Question specific, reply otherwise’: Cong MP targets govt over schools registered under FSSAI
The MP, however, claimed that not a single school in the country has been registered under the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) despite serving mid-day meals to crores of students daily.
Congress MP from Ambala, Varun Chaudhry on Monday said that according to a reply by the Union ministry of education in the Lok Sabha there are 10.33 lakh schools in 36 states and UTs serving mid-day meals under the PM-POSHAN scheme.
The MP, however, claimed that not a single school in the country has been registered under the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) despite serving mid-day meals to crores of students daily.
In an unstarred question during the monsoon session of Parliament, the MP sought a reply from the Union ministry of education regarding the number of government schools in the country where mid-day meal is prepared and served under the PM-POSHAN. He also asked about the schools registered under the FSSAI and the timeframe by which all schools serving such meals under the scheme are likely to be registered.
However, the Congress MP said that the question he raised in Parliament was specific, but the government chose to reply otherwise.
Speaking to HT, the MP said that according to Section 31 of the FSSAI Act, the registration is compulsory.
“It provides that along with those involved in food businesses, all other entities have to register themselves with the authority and in such manner as may be specified by regulations, without prejudice to the availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption or affecting the interests of the consumers,” he said.
He said but in the cases of schools that prepare and supply meals to crores of students of India, none has applied for registration yet.
“The registration needs to be done at the earliest as there have been so many complaints regarding the quality of meals served. The laws need to be followed by the citizens and the government alike. There should be no double standards as it is about the lives of the children and their parents,” the MP said.
In his reply, minister of state for education Jayant Chaudhary said that education is part of the concurrent list of the Constitution and most of the government schools and school boards are under the administration of the state government and union territory (UT) administrations.
“PM POSHAN Scheme is implemented in partnership with the state governments and UT administrations and the overall responsibility for providing hot and nutritious meals to all children studying in Bal Vatika (just before Class 1) and classes 1 to 8 of government and government- aided schools lies with them,” the minister said.
The reply also detailed the number of schools state-wise serving meals under the scheme. Accordingly, there are 10.33 lakh such schools in 36 states and UTs, maximum 1.41 lakh in Uttar Pradesh and least 27 in Lakshadweep.
There are 14,210 schools in Haryana serving mid-day meals under the scheme, 19,557 in Punjab and 116 in Chandigarh UT.
The minister said, “The Union government has issued detailed guidelines on quality, safety and hygiene to ensure serving of good quality nutritious meals under the scheme. These guidelines are available on the official website. States/UTs provide training to CCHs in collaboration with Institutes of Hotel Management, Food Craft Institutes, FSSAI, State Agricultural Universities etc.”
