Mumbai: The mid-day meals scheme is a beneficial scheme to encourage students to attend school and is meant to increase nutrition of schoolchildren, including children belonging to weaker sections of society, the Bombay High Court has observed.
The court has asked the civic bodies to be more vigilant and not be lenient with contractors / suppliers of mid-day meals, who provide substandard or uncooked food, at the cost of children's health.
“In such matters, the Corporation must be vigilant, considering the object of the mid day meals scheme and the target beneficiaries. The Corporation must conduct frequent and surprise checks so that the students from the marginalised sections do not suffer in silence and pain,” a bench of Justices MS Sonak and Kamal Khata said.
The HC upheld termination of Om Shakti Mahila Seva Sahakari Sanstha Maryadit which was given the contract to provide mid-day meals to 12 schools in the limits of Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC). Despite giving several notices to the contractor from January 2023, the food quality did not improve, hence the contract was terminated in May this year.
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MBMC received several complaints from students, their parents and school principals regarding substandard food, uncooked food and food with worms. The contractor had challenged the MBMC’s May 14 communication terminating its contract.
MBMC’s advocate NR Bubna informed the bench that its inspection team found several deficiencies in the petitioner’s work, and noted that substandard quality food was supplied to the schoolchildren and that the food was not supplied on time. MBMC issued several notices since last January highlighting that some of the students found worms, insects, and weevils in the cooked food supplied by the petitioner. Principals of some of the schools had also complained of uncooked food being supplied.
As there was no improvement in the food’s quality, MBMC terminated the contract. The petitioner claimed that there was no deficiency in the food quality, and in fact the civic chief had praised the food.
Dismissing the petition, the HC noted that MBMC should have acted with greater promptitude in addressing the issue to prevent any harm to the students. “... such leniency should not be at the cost of the health of the school children. This is a matter where for over a period of 15 months no action was taken against the petitioner, though during this period the petitioner was pointed out the repeated lapses in its catering service. After about 23 students reported worms in the meals or when students had to go hungry because the meals supplied were inedible, the Corporation should have acted with promptitude,” the bench noted.
Upholding the termination, the court said that MBMC was justified in its action and it was not a knee jerk reaction.
