Ma, what?s for lunch today?

Due to complaints of adulteration, Chhattisgarh has sought help from the mothers of school children who are served mid-day meals .

Chhattisgarh on Monday sought help from the mothers of school children who are served mid-day meals, which cost a whopping Rs.6.8 million daily but which have been dogged by complaints of adulteration.

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“I call upon the mothers of the 3.4 million kids enrolled in government and state-aided 32,599 primary schools, Class I to V to inspect the mid-day meal foodstuff in their local areas and suggest ways for quality improvement,” chief minister Raman Singh was quoted as saying in an official press release.

“The state government spends R 6.8 million a day on the mid-day meal scheme with 50 per cent financial support from the Centre. Mothers can play a major role in making the scheme a success,” release added.

Last year, the government found complaints of mismanagement in the scheme and in some cases, children fell ill after consuming rotten and adulterated food forcing the government to employ women’s self help groups for the cooking.

Chhattisgarh’s BJP government decided in August last year to offer sweets in addition to the daily dose of dal, green vegetables and rice to children mainly in the tribal and Maoist-dominated Bastar and Surguja regions to check dropout rates.