Will look into complaints raised by Satheesan on midday meal: Minister

Sivankutty says govt.'s stance is that food safety has to be ensured and it is ready to do whatever is needed to get the children quality food; govt. order followed plaint from headteachers about pressure from food safety authorities

The General Education department will look into how the points raised by Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan in a letter to the Chief Minister on the midday meal scheme are applicable to State schools, Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty has said.

Mr. Sivankutty said the Chief Minister’s O„ce had passed on the letter to him and he had gone through it. How its contents were applicable to State schools would be examined. If those were found to be mandatory, steps would be taken to implement them.

“The General Education department’s stance is that food safety has to be ensured. We are ready to do whatever is needed to ensure that children get quality food cooked in a hygienic environment.”

Report sought

Asked about the reasons for the government withdrawing the direction making food safety licence

The government’s rationale was that the midday meal scheme was not a food business and it was implemented in the State as a statutory and legal provision and so, the licence was not binding.

‘Decision illegal’

However, close on the heels of the Kerala Students’ Union demand for withdrawal of the order, Mr. Satheesan too shot o• a letter to the Chief Minister stating that the decision not to comply with the Central law was illegal.

The Chief Minister should intervene to withdraw the “anti-people” order and ensure food safety standards in the distribution of midday meals, Mr. Satheesan said in the letter.

In 2022, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had asked food safety commissioners of States to ensure that food business operators, including schools and nongovernmental organisations, involved in preparing or supplying midday meals for students have FSSAI registration/licence.

The commissioning of electronic voting machines (EVMs) for the Lok Sabha polls began in the district on Wednesday. The exercise involves loading ballot papers containing the photos and symbols of the candidates in the EVMs and the paper slips in the Voter Verišable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines.

The EVM commissioning will be completed by April 20. District Collector and District Election O„cer Geromic George visited the commissioning centres at St. Mary’s HSS, Pattom; Government HSS, Manacaud; and Government Girls’ HSS, Cotton Hill.

S. MAHINSHA Utmost caution: Commissioning of electronic voting machines in progress under the supervision of District Collector Geromic George in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.