Midday Meal scheme hits roadblock after non-renewal of Drought Declaration Certificate

The certificate, a copy of which is with The Indian Express, stated, “The declaration of drought would come into effect on 1st December 2018 and would continue to be in effect for six months from this date unless revoked earlier by an order of the state government.”

Following this, a range of relief initiatives were started by the state government in the 51 tehsils. And one of them was to continue the MDM scheme in schools of those tehsils even during the summer vacation.

However, since the drought certificate “expired” on May 31, office of the Commissioner, MDM Scheme, issued a circular the same day addressing the Collector Office of those 11 drought affected districts.

The circular (in Gujarati), accessed by The Indian Express, stated that the Gujarat government had declared 51 tehsils of 11 districts as drought-affected between December 1, 2018, and May 31, 2019. And accordingly, MDM Scheme and Doodh Sanjeevani Yojna (under which fortified milk is provided to children) were continued in the schools of those 51 tehsils during summer vacation as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court.

“At present, since no instruction has been received from the Revenue Department to extend the DDC, from June 1, 2019, benefits under (the) MDM Scheme and Doodh Sanjeevani Yojana in the above mentioned 51 tehsils will have to be stopped from June 1, 2019…Between June 1, 2019 and June 9, 2019, no expense shall be incurred on MDM Scheme and Doodh Sanjeevani Yojna,” read the circular.

Incharge commissioner of MDM Scheme in Gujarat, J D Desai said the drought notification of Revenue Department expired on May 31, 2019. “After that they have not extended the notification…”

“The MDM scheme will be continued from June 10 when the schools reopen (after summer vacation),” Desai added.

Revenue Minister Kaushik Patel could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.

Whereas, when asked if the declaration of drought in 51 tehsils was renewed after May 31, Additional Chief Secretary of Revenue Department, Pankaj Kumar, said, “All activities that we were doing, are being continued.”

Kumar, however, could not reply to queries on discontinuance of the MDM Scheme in the schools of these 51 drought-affected tehsils during summer vacation. He said he was in a crowded place and the audio was not clear. He could not be contacted thereafter.