Punjab gets Rs 13 crore from Centre for mid-day meal

Of this amount, Rs 8.90 crore have been released by the Union ministry of human resource development as the Centre’s share of the cooking cost and Rs 2.47 crore for payment of honorarium to cooks-cum-helpers engaged in government schools

The Centre has released Rs 13.09 crore to the Punjab government for 13 lakh students of government schools across the state under the centrally-sponsored mid-day meal scheme.

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Of this amount, Rs 8.90 crore have been released by the Union ministry of human resource development as the Centre’s share of the cooking cost and Rs 2.47 crore for payment of honorarium to cooks-cum-helpers engaged in government schools. These funds are in addition to the state’s share of Rs 7.61 crore under the programme funded jointly by the Centre and the state government on 60:40 sharing basis.

“Pending receipt of unspent balance as on April 1, it has been decided to release Rs 13.09 crore as first tranche of ad-hoc recurring assistance...the education department must release the Central assistance as well the state government’s matching contribution to the schools/implementing agencies within a week,” the Union ministry wrote in the release order.

These funds are in addition to foodgrains released to the state for distribution of dry ration to 13 lakh children of primary and upper primary classes since all schools are closed due to curfew imposed in the state to check the spread of coronavirus. Cooking cost of mid-day meal will be transferred to the bank accounts of these children at the revised rate of Rs 4.97 per day for children of primary classes and Rs 7.45 per day for upper primary classes, which is an increase of 11% over the previous year.