Droplets of milk mixed in water in UP's midday meal milk scheme

MEERUT: A surprise inspection at a midday meal kitchen in UP's Saharanpur has stumped the district administration. An official who visited the kitchen of the NGO hired to supply the "nutritious supplement" found that the milk being served to students was little more than water. Of the stock that was inspected, officials detected 292 litres of water in just 192 litres of milk.

Radha Krishan Tivari, assistant director in the basic education department who held the surprise inspection, said schoolchildren were drinking milk that was more than 150 per cent water.

"We were simply stunned," Tivari told TOI on Thursday . "The visit to the kitchen of Nav Prayas, an NGO we hired to supply milk and midday meals, left one dismayed. It supplies food to 131 schools, including 107 primary and 27 higher primary government schools. The meals are consumed by over 11,000 students." A student said on the condition of anonymity that many kids are often unable to eat the food "as the quality is so bad". He added, "Had it not been for the surprise raid, no one would have noticed or cared."

In its bid make the midday meal more nutritious, the UP government had recently decided to distribute milk in government primary and higher primary schools. In rural schools, it is the headmaster and village head's combined responsibility to distribute the meals; in urban schools, NGOs are hired. Tivari said the khichdi served was no better. "It had very little tomato, green vegetables and soyabean," he added.

The report has been sent to the Basic Shiksha Adhikari recommending strict action against the NGO. The NGO will also not get payment for July and August. "Distribution of milk in the midday meal is one of the CM's ( Akhilesh Yadav) flagship schemes and negligence will not be tolerated," Tivari fumed.