Will ask states for support to ensure midday meal food quality: HRD minister

New Delhi: With a string of incidents putting a question mark on mid-day meal scheme, HRD Minister M M Pallam Raju today said he would write to all MPs for their support for its effective implementation and maintaining quality of food. Talking to reporters here, he said as the MPs are also members of the vigilance monitoring committee at the district level for review of the programme, they would be requested to especially “focus on the midday meal scheme and the quality aspect”. He said a new committee will look into the quality aspect of the programme and the effectiveness of the supply chain and hygiene of the place. [caption id=“attachment_983651” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Midday meal. AFP[/caption] Twenty-three children had died after consuming mid-day meal in Bihar’s Saran district on July 16. Raju, however, refused to be dragged into a controversy over Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s suggestion that there was a political conspiracy behind the incident. When asked about Kumar’s remarks, he said, “I do not think we should bring politics into this. It is matter of the lives of children. We should all be equally responsible to share the blame and also to share the success of the scheme.” The Ministry had yesterday asked all states to put in place a contingency plan to deal with such incidents and ensure strict compliance of guidelines like teachers tasting food before it is served and procurement of food grains in sealed containers. PTI