A midday meal worker serves food to school students
But since schools reopened on June 15, govt has not credited a single penny in her account. As many as 1.58 lakh workers employed across Maharashtra to keep schoolchildren fed have been unpaid for the past three months. They have been asking for a mere Rs1,000 increase per month in remuneration for the past many years. The only change in the midday meal scheme, say activists, has been in the name of govt’s flagship nutrition programme, renamed PM POSHAN (Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman) in 2021. Ashok Thorat, the state general secretary of Maharashtra Rajya Shaleya Poshan Aahar Kamgar Sanghatana (Maharashtra State School Midday Meal Workers’ Union), affiliated to Citu, says 70% of the workers are women. “There are nearly 1.58 lakh sanctioned workers associated with this scheme since June 15.
Because of the delay in the adoption of the single nodal agency Samyochit Pranali Ekikrit Shighra Hastantaran, direct benefit transfer (DBT) for centrally sponsored schemes and the delay in getting both state and central funds in the system, the entire issue, say officials, has been. Because the payment system has moved to a new platform, which faced some delay,” says Sharad Gosavi, director, primary education, their payments could not be made.
There is nobody to look after ours,” she says. Pune: Maharashtra ’s drought distress goes beyond the rain deficiency data, from parched crop fields to dried-up jobs and lack of money for two square meals. Seeds have failed to germinate. Crops have withered in the heat. Naturally, agriculture-related works have dried up. The crisis has reached the home of Kaushalya, a woman in her 40s, and her family of eight. They struggle to afford two meals a day. The only job her entire family has is hers — preparing midday meals for primary schoolchildren. She is supposed to get Rs83 a day for this five-hour work. “We look after hundreds of kids. Such administrative delays have compounded the rural agrarian crisis unfolding in Maharashtra. All of them come from extremely poor backgrounds — socially and economically.
The organisation plans to protest in respective Zilla Parishads on Sept 24 against the delay in payment. Thorat says as per the statistics, one worker is assigned to make meals for every 25 students, two for students between 26 and 199, and so on. “They get Rs2,500, which is among the lowest in the country. Keralam leads with over Rs12,000 per month. Even Haryana pays Rs7,000 per month. These workers do 11 types of work — from fetching water, cleaning to cooking, serving and washing. We are paid only for 10 months despite the 11-month contract,” says Afrin from Ahilyanagar.
Because they are scared the school management committee will terminate them, they can’t stop work. Because we are on contract, we can’t complain. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Pune | Silver Rate in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune | Petrol Price in Pune | Diesel Price in Pune | CNG Price in Pune | LPG Price in Pune Stay updated with the latest Pune news.
If the govt wanted to adopt the single nodal agency, they should have done it during the summer vacation,” says Thorat. But in Maharashtra, they get nothing,” says Thorat, adding that they had organised large-scale protests four times but nobody cared. Vaishali from Wardha says two people are paralysed in her home. Doesn’t matter how unwell you are, if you are a midday meal worker, you have to go to the school and cook for students,” says Vaishali, adding that teachers threaten to terminate their services even for small things.
But with drought, no work in agriculture and Ganesh festival expenses, the lack of money is hurting the families. Many states give bonuses. They require medicines and all kinds of help. “Even if someone dies, we do not get a single day’s leave. Most midday meal workers are made to do all chores in schools despite their role being limited to cooking the meal and its allied activities. “They make us clean toilets and sweep the school. Download the TOI App.
“The honorarium was never on time even earlier.
The Centre pays 60% and the state 40% of the amount. The sanctioned monthly amount for each midday meal worker is Rs1,000, of which the Centre gives Rs600 and the state Rs400. The state govt puts in additional Rs1,500, making the total payment Rs2,500 for each worker. It will take another 8-10 days for its disbursal,” says Gosavi, also the nodal officer for PM Poshan in Maharashtra.
“This is a centrally sponsored scheme. But we received the funding only on Thursday.