Midday meal a collective responsibility, says minister

 Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister M M Pallam Raju on Saturday sought to end the row over implementation of the midday meal scheme in Bihar, saying that implementation of the scheme was a “collective responsibility” of all the stakeholders, including the Centre.

“It is time for all of us to wake up. It is a collective responsibility. It is not the responsibility of state alone. It is the responsibility of local community, school management committee and district administration to ensure that things are going to function,” said the minister here.

Raju’s suggestion comes at a time when the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee is up in arms against Janata Dal-United government in Bihar over its “sloppy performance” in the implementation of the central scheme.

Raju, however, stood by his statement that the ministry had alerted Bihar about the low quality of food being served to children in 12 districts.