PANAJI
Midday meals served to school students across Goa will this year cost the exchequer approximately Rs 38.27 crore this year. The Centre will take a tab of Rs 18.78 crore and the State government will spend the balance.
Director of Education Shailesh Zingde on Friday refuted media reports that daily reporting of the mid-day meal scheme implementation in Goa is poor, saying that since June this year, the level of reporting has consistently stayed at above 99 percent.
Zingde said that if reporting was poor, the Centre would not have released the first two instalments of the grants for the scheme.
“Goa is the first among all states to receive the first instalment in June and the second in July from the Centre,” Zingde said, adding that school teachers and ADEIs have done a good job to ensure 99 percent plus reporting of the actual implementation and reporting of the daily count of beneficiary students.
Meanwhile, the actual execution of the contract with ‘Akshaya Patra’ to supply mid-day meals to around 5,000 students is yet to begin.
Zingde said that the agreement with Akshaya Patra, which won the tender, was signed in January-February, and they had six months to set up the kitchen and get an FDA licence for it.
“They have sought an extension, which the government has granted,” Zingde said, adding that it is for the agency to get back with a ready kitchen and the FDA licence.
