Lok Sabha Question No. 353 (STARRED), answered on 2017-03-27
Subject: Wages of Mid Day Meal Workers
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: OM BIRLA, CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 353 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.03.2017

## Wages of Mid Day Meal Workers

## *353. SHRI OM BIRLA:

## SHRI CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI:

Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  taken  note  of  the  fact  that  wages  of  Mid  Day  Meal  (MDM) workers differ from State to State and if so, the details thereof along with the wages given to MDM workers across the country, State/UT-wise;
- (b) the steps taken by the Government to increase the wages of MDM workers; and
- (c) whether the Government proposes to bring Private Public Partnership mode in MDMs in all States so as to ensure a better delivery of service and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SH. PRAKASH JAVADEKAR)

- (a) to (c): A statement is laid on the table of the House.

Statement referred in reply to parts (a) to (c) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 353 for 27.03.2017 raised by Shri Om Birla and Shri Chandra Prakash Joshi regarding Wages of Mid Day Meal Workers.

- (a) & (b): The cook-cum-helpers (CCHs), engaged under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS) for preparing and serving mid day meals at schools, are honorary workers who have come forward for rendering social services. In recognition of their services, the CCHs are paid honorarium, and not wages. The honorarium paid is Rs.1000 per month for 10 months in a year. The honorarium expenditure is shared between the Central Government and States/UTs in the ratio of 60:40 for non-NER  States,  90:10  for  NER  and  3  Himalayan  States  viz.  Himachal  Pradesh,  Jammu  & Kashmir and Uttarakhand and 100% for UTs. The State Governments/UT Administrations may also  supplement  the  honorarium  by  providing  additional  funds  from  their  own  resources;  and several States/UTs have done so, as in Annexure.
- (c)    MDMS  Guidelines  issued  in  2010  provide  for  engaging  Voluntary  Organisations/NonGovernment  Organisations  (NGOs)  for  cooking/supply  of  mid  day  meal.    The  Guidelines provide  for  centralized  kitchen  for  a  cluster  of  schools  in  urban  areas,  where  there  is  a  space constraint for setting up school kitchens in individual schools so that cooked hot meal may be transported  under  hygienic  conditions  through  reliable  transport  system  to  various  schools. Operations  of  these  centralized  kitchens  may  be  entrusted  to  reputed  NGOs  under  the  PPP model. During 2015-16, 314 NGOs were engaged by 17 States/UTs in 127 districts for providing Mid Day Meal to 72,19,889 children studying in 42,383 Schools.

Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) & (b) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 353 for 27.03.2017 raised by Shri Om Birla and Shri Chandra Prakash Joshi regarding Wages of Mid Day Meal Workers.

States/UTs providing more than minimum mandatory share towards honorarium to CookCum-Helpers (CCHs)

|   S. No. | State/UT     |   Additional amount given by State per CCH per month over and above Rs. 1,000 per month |
|----------|--------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        1 | Bihar        |                                                                                     250 |
|        2 | Chhattisgarh |                                                                                     200 |
|        3 | Haryana      |                                                                                    1500 |
|        4 | Jharkhand    |                                                                                     500 |
|        5 | Karnataka    |                                                                                     700 |
|        6 | Kerala       |                                                                                    6500 |
|        7 | Mizoram      |                                                                                     500 |
|        8 | Punjab       |                                                                                     200 |
|        9 | Tamil Nadu   |                                                                                    4000 |
|       10 | Uttarakhand  |                                                                                     500 |
|       11 | West Bengal  |                                                                                     500 |
|       12 | Chandigarh   |                                                                                    1622 |
|       13 | D&N Haveli   |                                                                                    2945 |
|       14 | Daman &Diu   |                                                                                    2945 |
|       15 | Lakshadweep  |                                                                                    6500 |
|       16 | Puducherry   |                                                                                   13000 |

Source -AWP&B 2016-17.