PRAYAGRAJ Delivering on its promise, the Yogi Adityanath government has released over ₹18.62 crore to purchase uniform saree for 3,72,509 mid-day meal cooks. These cooks are working in more than 1.6 lakh government-run primary and upper primary schools of the basic education department along with other government and government-aided schools spread across the 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh.
This is for the first time that the state government has released funds to purchase uniform for the cooks. The money has been sent to the bank accounts of these cooks via direct benefit transfer. Each cook is to get a pair of sarees worth ₹500 worth, said state education department officials. This would be annual thing which means that the cooks will get money for a new pair of saree unform every year, they added.
Earlier in December 2021, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath had promised to give two sarees per year to each cook in a meeting with cooks and instructors which was held in Lucknow. During this meeting, the CM had also announced to increase the honorarium being given to these cooks by ₹500 from ₹1,500 to ₹2,000 per month. Following the meeting, a government order in this regard was issued on April 28, 2022.
The increased honorarium of the cooks was first released on September 13, 2022. The amount reached their respective bank accounts the same day. However, the sum of ₹500 promised for a pair of saris could not be released then. It has been done now. Now, only the government’s promise of providing ₹5 lakh group insurance cover to these cooks remains to be fulfilled.
{{/usCountry}}The increased honorarium of the cooks was first released on September 13, 2022. The amount reached their respective bank accounts the same day. However, the sum of ₹500 promised for a pair of saris could not be released then. It has been done now. Now, only the government’s promise of providing ₹5 lakh group insurance cover to these cooks remains to be fulfilled.
{{/usCountry}}Notably, the decision to release the fund for sarees has been conveyed by Vijay Kiran Anand, director (school education) and head of U.P. mid-day deal authority, to all district magistrates through a missive dated March 14, 2023. The missive, a copy of which is with HT, also specifies the amount for each of the 75 district out of the total released sum of ₹18,62,54,500.
At ₹54.75 lakh, Sitapur has pocketed the highest fund among all 75 districts. It is followed by Hardoi ( ₹51.17 lakh), Prayagraj ( ₹46.6 lakh), Bahraich ( ₹46.36 lakh), Lakhimpur Kheri ( ₹47.95 lakh), Agra ( ₹30.1 lakh) Kanpur Dehat ( ₹22.53 lakh), Varanasi ( ₹20.88 lakh), Lucknow ( ₹19.4 lakh), Kanpur Nagar ( ₹18.66 lakh), and Meerut ( ₹12.30 lakh).
Confirming the development, Praveen Kumar, basic shiksha adhikari (BSA), Prayagraj, said, “For Prayagraj, a budget of ₹46,60,500 has been received for 9,321 cooks covered under the mid-day meal scheme. This has been sent to the accounts of the beneficiaries concerned.”