LPG shortage may affect mid-day meals for 5.4L students

In a letter dated March 10 addressed to the primary director of the state school education department, the BMC’s deputy education officer in charge of the mid-day meal programme said that women’s self-help groups that run central kitchens in the city for mid-day would find it extremely difficult to cook meals without LPG cylinders

Mumbai: Recent restrictions on the supply of LPG cylinders to charitable and commercial organisations on account of the ongoing US-Iran war may create serious disruptions in the provision of mid-day meals to nearly 540,000 students across schools in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has warned the state school education department.

The crisis arose after state-run oil companies reportedly stopped supplying domestic LPG cylinders to charitable institutions from March 10 due to regulatory restrictions on account of the war in the Middle East. (Praful Gangurde / HT Photo)

In a letter dated March 10 addressed to the primary director of the state school education department, the BMC’s deputy education officer in charge of the mid-day meal programme said that women’s self-help groups that run central kitchens in the city for mid-day would find it extremely difficult to cook meals without LPG cylinders.

“At present, around 5.40 lakh students studying in municipal, municipal-aided, private aided and partially aided schools in Mumbai receive cooked food every day. If LPG supply stops, these kitchens will not be able to prepare meals and it may affect the nutrition of students,” the letter said.

The crisis arose after state-run oil companies reportedly stopped supplying domestic LPG cylinders to charitable institutions from March 10 due to regulatory restrictions on account of the war in the Middle East. Some suppliers also told charitable organisations that the shortage of cylinders could last at least 1-1.5 months.

While the mid-day meal programme in Mumbai operates under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman Yojana, food is prepared through a central kitchen system run by 147 women’s organisations who were appointed in 2024-25 for a three-year period. The government supplies rice for meals under the scheme, while other ingredients such as pulses, vegetables, oil and spices are arranged by women’s groups. The groups also bear the cost of cooking fuel, transportation and maintaining kitchen facilities; in return, they receive a subsidy of ₹6.78 per student per day for classes 1-5 and ₹10.15 per student per day for classes 6-8.

The letter from the BMC to the school education department highlighted growing financial pressure on women’s self-help groups. Kitchens serving midday meals 2,000-4,000 students require at least one cylinder per day, while bigger kitchens serving meals to 7,000-10,000 students need two cylinders daily, whereas a large LPG cylinder currently costs ₹1,800-1,900, the letter said.

The BMC has urged the state education department and the state government to issue instructions to oil companies to ensure regular LPG supply to central kitchens.

The state government was monitoring the situation closely, said school education commissioner Sachindra Pratap Singh.

“The mid-day meal programme is a priority and the department has asked officials to review the LPG supply situation in major cities including Mumbai, Pune and Nashik. There are very few chances that LPG supply for the mid-day meal programme will be disrupted,” Singh said.