Lok Sabha Question No. 3040 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-06
Subject: Substandard Quality of MDMS
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Sarfaraz Alam

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3040 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.08.2018

## Substandard Quality of MDMS

## †3040. SHRI SARFARAZ ALAM:

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

- (a) whether the Government has taken note of incident where cockroaches, lizards etc. like poisonous  insects  were  found  in  the  food  served  in  schools  under  mid-day  meal scheme;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof along with the number of complaints received in this regard during the last five years and the current year, year/State-wise;
- (c)   the action taken against the person responsible for serving unhealthy food to children in schools along with the schools of Bihar from where such incidents have taken place; and
- (d) the steps taken by the Government to improve the quality of food to be served under the said scheme?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRI UPENDRA KUSHWAHA)

- (a) to (c) : A total number of 18 incidents were reported regarding contaminated mid-day meal under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS) from 8 States and UTs during last five years  including    4  cases  from  Bihar.    The  State  and  UT-wise  details  are  given  at Annexure. The overall responsibility for providing cooked and nutritious mid day meal to the eligible children lies with State Governments and UTs administration. Respective State Governments and UT Administrations including State Government of Bihar were requested to furnish Action Taken Report (ATR) in the matter. As per Action Taken Reports (ATRs) received from States and UTs, action such as issuing warning against the official responsible, initiating criminal proceedings and imposing penalties against the defaulting persons/organisations, terminating the contract of concerned NGOs/Organisations etc. have been taken by the concerned State Governments and UT Administrations.
- (d):  The Government of India has issued guidelines on quality, safety and hygiene in school level  kitchens  to  all  the  States  and  UTs.  These  guidelines  inter-alia  provide  for instructions to schools to procure Agmark quality and branded items for preparation of mid  day  meals,  tasting  of  meals  by  2-3  adult  members  of  School  Management Committee including at least one teacher before serving to children and to put in place a system of testing of food samples by accredited laboratories. The State Governments have also been instructed to display the emergency number of medical authorities in a prominent place in the school for use in case of emergencies in the school.  Further, the MDM Rules,  2015  provide  for  mandatory  testing  of  food  samples  by  Government recognized laboratories to ensure that the meals meet nutritional standards and quality. The Government has also adopted an elaborate monitoring mechanism at Central, State and District levels to ensure quality food is served to children under the Scheme.

*******

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) to (c) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3040 for 06.08.2018 raised by Shri Sarfaraz Alam regarding Substandard Quality of MDMS

State  and  UT-wise  details  of  complaints  regarding    contaminated  mid-day  meal  under MDMS during last five years.

| Sl. No.   | State/UT      | Poor Quality   | Poor Quality   | Poor Quality   | Poor Quality   | Poor Quality   | Total   |
|-----------|---------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|---------|
|           |               | 2014           | 2015           | 2016           | 2017           | 2018           |         |
| 1         | Bihar         | 4              |                |                |                |                | 4       |
| 2         | Chandigarh    |                | 1              |                |                |                | 1       |
| 3         | Delhi         |                | 1              |                | 1              | 2              | 4       |
| 4         | Gujarat       |                | 1              |                |                |                | 1       |
| 5         | Haryana       | 1              |                |                |                |                | 1       |
| 6         | Jharkhand     | 1              |                |                |                |                | 1       |
| 7         | Maharashtra   |                | 1              |                |                |                | 1       |
| 8         | Uttar Pradesh | 2              | 3              |                |                |                | 5       |
|           | Total         | 8              | 7              | 0              | 1              | 2              | 18      |