MCD may bar six NGOs from future tenders over unhygienic conditions in mid-day meal kitchens

MCD may bar six NGOs from future tenders over unhygienic conditions in mid-day meal kitchens

New Delhi, The Municipal Corporation of Delhi may blacklist six NGOs involved in preparing mid-day meals for its primary schools, after inspections found several kitchens operating in unhygienic conditions, a senior official said on Tuesday.

MCD may bar six NGOs from future tenders over unhygienic conditions in mid-day meal kitchens

According to officials, 14 non-governmental organisations currently supply mid-day meals to students across all 1,514 MCD-run schools through centralised kitchens in Delhi's 12 zones. While some NGOs serve food in an entire zone, in some zones, two NGOs operate kitchens.

According to a report accessed by PTI, six of these NGOs were found violating hygiene and operational standards during inspections conducted over the past few months.

Officials said the violations included the presence of rats and rat excreta in kitchens, inadequate food portions being served to students, and the absence of Total Dissolved Solids devices in water purifiers, among other lapses.

They said the civic body has issued show-cause notices and imposed fines on the NGOs following multiple inspections.

"We have imposed fines on these NGOs, which were deducted from their payments. We will continue surprise inspections, and if the same lapses recur, these NGOs will be barred from participating in future tenders," an official said.

According to the report, four of the six kitchens were found violating norms, and were infested with rats.

During a surprise inspection in February, a kitchen supplying meals to schools in the MCD's South Zone was found storing wheat and rice in a foul-smelling space, with abundance of rats and rat excreta.

The report further said expired grains and pulses were found in the kitchen, while requisite measures such as fly catchers, air curtains, oil traps and CCTV cameras were either missing or non-functional.

In addition, the kitchen's boundary wall was breached, and LPG cylinders were used for cooking because the commercial rice boiler was not operational.

"The NGO was fined ₹40,000 for these lapses in February. It had earlier received two show-cause notices and a separate penalty of ₹40,000 in November last year," officials said.

According to the report, three other kitchens, including two operating in the Najafgarh and Narela zones, were also issued show-cause notices and fined for several violations, including presence of rats, and serving less quantity of food to students.

Another kitchen, which provides meals in the Narela and Keshav Puram zones, was issued a notice on February 19 and fined ₹2.4 lakh for improper stock registration, unauthorised shifting of food grains and poor hygiene practices, the report said.

Meanwhile, the West Zone kitchen was found to be providing inadequate food portions to students.

In one school with 1,171 students, the total cooked food weighed only 123 kg, excluding the container weight. As per guidelines, each student must be served 250 grams of cooked rice, which would have required at least 191 kg of rice for the total student strength, the report stated.

"Despite notices, if they continue violating norms, they will be debarred from the tender process. However, if they submit an undertaking and rectify the issues, such action may not be taken," the senior official added.

The mid day meal scheme in MCD schools aims to provide free, cooked meals to children till Class 5 via centralised kitchens, adhering to nutritional standards of 450 calories and 12 gram protein per child.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.