Over 36% of government-run-schools in Jammu and Kashmir use firewood and other tools to prepare the mid-day meals (MDM) against the suggested Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
The mid-day meals scheme is a school meal programme of the government of India designed to better the nutritional standing of school-age children nationwide.
The Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) in its Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWPB) said that 36.89% of schools providing mid-day meals to students in J&K were using firewood as fuel source to prepare the meals while 63.14% were using LPG.
According to the MHRD documents, out of 22,205 schools, only 14,021 were cooking meals by using LPG.
The Jammu and Kashmir government in a reply to the queries of MHRD regarding the steps taken to provide LPG as fuel for mid-day meals in all schools said: “Instructions were already conveyed to the Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCSCA) to cover all leftover schools by providing LPG as fuel in MDM in all schools.”
The Union Territory authorities also conveyed to the MHRD that there were some schools located in remote and hilly areas where the use of LPG is not feasible because of massive head load and therefore, “the timber is used for cooking of meals in those schools which has been found as the best alternative for those schools.”
The problem in the schools across the J&K is not limited to the use of LPG. Official records reveal that out of 11,815 sanctioned kitchens-cum-store, authorities have completed only 7,118 while the balance of 4,697 could not be completed within the existing rates prescribed by the MHRD.