Bombay HC wants periodic inspection of mid-day meals after chikki scam

Mumbai: The Bombay high court, while hearing a PIL related to the multi-crore chikki scam on Wednesday, said that periodical inspection must be done in schools implementing the government’s mid-day meal scheme. The court indicated that it would frame guidelines for inspection of the mid-day meal scheme. The scam involved alleged supply of inferior-quality chikki in state-run schools.

A division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice M.S. Sonak was hearing the PIL filed by activist Sandeep Ahire, seeking inquiry by a retired high court judge into the alleged chikki scam, for which women and child development minister Pankaja Munde had come under fire from various quarters. “If mid-day meal schemes are implemented properly, it is good. However if commercial purposes are given priority while implementing the schemes, they no longer serve the purpose for which they were introduced,” stated the bench.

According to the petition, clay and mud particles were found in chikki supplied to civic school students. Earlier, the government denied allegations and said no clay particles were found in the chikki sample. However, the court stopped payments to contractors until further order. The suggestion to frame guidelines was given by senior counsel Ravi Kadam, who appeared on behalf of the contractors. Advocate Kadam demanded that contractors of the mid-day meal be refunded the deposits paid by them as laboratory reports of six food samples sent to them did not show any contamination or sub-standard stuff.