PANAJI
Self-help Groups (SHGs) that have been providing mid-day meals to schools across the State for years are anxious as the Education Department plans to trial Bengaluru-based Akshaya Patra Foundation from the next academic year.
Initially, Akshay Patra Foundation will provide mid-day meals to around 5,000 students in schools where no SHGs currently provide meals.
Rekha Gunjikar, President of Shree Ganesh Self-help Group from Dicarpale-Davorlim, claimed the last payment she received was approximately Rs 7 lakh for three months in 2023 (June, July, August).
Though she’s been submitting bills regularly since September 2023, none have been sanctioned due to a lack of funds, she claims.
Rekha explains, “We receive details from schools on the first of every month. It takes us four-five days to process and submit them to the ADI in Margao. The bills are checked for mistakes and corrections, then returned to us with officials’ signatures. We submit these bills to the Accounts Department in Porvorim. However, when we inquire about the non-payment of our pending bills, the department states there’s a lack of funds, and payments are delayed.”
Rekha’s SHG supplies mid-day meals to approximately 1,200 students from five schools in Margao. “The two drivers and one helper have to be paid every month even if government payment is delayed. We keep our gold in the bank and take a loan of Rs 2-3 lakh to cover day-to-day expenses. While we pay the interest regularly, the gold is retrieved once the bulk payment is released,” she explains.
“The Akshaya Patra Foundation would be preferred to local SHGs because unlike the SHGs, the foundation has sufficient funds to carry on the business and can sustain even if government payments are delayed. That’s why most SHGs have stopped chasing pending bills and are not voicing their problems,” she alleges.
Echoing the issue, Kanti Khutwalkar, President of Jagruti Mahila Mandal from Vasco, stated there have been no serious issues regarding bill payments before.
“This started last year after the earlier procedure of processing the bills was changed,” she alleges and adds, “Earlier, the bills used to be sent to the accounts department by the education department after the DoE signed them. It used to take 15 days for the process. Now, the Central funds come to the cooperative bank account of the Education Department. However, we are told that the Central funds have not been received yet, and hence our bills are pending.”
Kanti questions why action has not been taken to resolve this issue if the Central government fund, which constitutes 60%, and the State government fund of the remaining 40% have not been deposited in the banks since last year.
She also states if some SHGs are providing low-quality food, they should be penalised, but not all SHGs should be punished for no fault of theirs.
Kanti suggests that in talukas with many students, the government should employ more SHGs, and allocate 1,500 students to each. This way, the quality of food and timely supply can be maintained.
Claiming SHGs have contributed to the growth and development of students by providing good food, Kanti mentions someone from outside Goa might not understand preferences of Goan children.
“If the schools can take our midday meals without paying us, why is our due delayed on the pretext of an agreement? The agreement procedure should have been completed in May to June, which was delayed and done in September-October last year. We were told to bring several documents, NOCs, permissions from the panchayat, and other bodies, which delayed the procedure of signing the agreement,” alleges Kanti.
Most SHGs believe they should be paid in advance, as in some states like Kerala where the midday meal payments are made in advance to smooth the process and allow breathing space to SHGs and mahila mandals, who have to cover expenses from their own pockets for months to run the business smoothly.
