Even its ambitious scheme of extending the coverage of the scheme to the upper primary level might be in jeopardy if such allocations are not made in the Eleventh Plan.

In an urgent message to the Planning Commission, Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh said the allocations worth Rs 48,000 crore currently made for the 11th Plan period would not be adequate to salvage the largest nutrition programme in the world feeding more than 50 million children.

The minister’s SOS to the Plan panel follows a note from the Department of Food and Public Distribution headed by the Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, saying that it might not be able to provide food grains for the scheme at a subsidised rate.

“It appears that because of low procurement of wheat and rice in the current year, the department will not be in a position to supply food grains for the extended coverage to the upper primary stage,” Mr Singh said. Food grains may be supplied at economic cost, rather than at BPL (Below Poverty Line) rates,” he said.

Enhance allocations
In the present context, the minister appealed to the Plan panel to “significantly” enhance budgetary allocations towards the mid-day meal scheme as the allocations currently made for the 11th Plan period would not suffice.
The ministry had demanded Rs 61,858 crore considering the food grains were supplied at the BPL rate. The HRD ministry will now have to buy grains at the ‘economic rate’, which is about Rs 12,000 per metric tonne, compared to Rs 5,650 per metric tonne earlier.

The Central assistance for the scheme includes supply of free food grains (wheat/rice) at 100 grams per child per school day from the nearest Food Corporation of India godown.

It also reimburses the cost incurred in transportation of food grains from the nearest FCI godown to the primary school at the rate of Rs 100 maximum per quintal for  North-Eastern states and  Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.

The Central assistance also includes cooking cost at Rs 1.80 per child per school day for the North-Eastern states and Rs 1.50 per child per school day for other states and UTs. Central assistance for cooked mid-day meal is also provided during summer vacations to children in areas declared as “drought-affected”.