LPG to replace firewood for midday meals
RELATED
BHUBANESWAR:
Odisha is planning to replace firewood with cooking gas as fuel to cook
midday meals (MDM) in schools. Shortage of firewood and its
environmental impact are being cited as reasons behind the proposed
change.
Confirming the move, director elementary education Sukadeba Dash said the state has requested the Centre to enhance its share on cooking cost, because LPG will be costlier than firewood. "Since LPG will increase the food making cost, the Central government has to increase its allocation," he said.
Sources said Odisha is planning to raise the issue of LPG for MDM during the December 29 meeting of National Development Council (NDC), the statutory advisory body for the country's planning commission, and is presided over by the Prime Minister, at New Delhi.
As per the understanding, the Centre should give 75% of the cooking cost while the state should bear the rest. According to government figures, the cooking cost in states is Rs 3.45 per primary student and Rs 5.15 per upper primary student. However, the Centre is giving Rs 2.17 and Rs 3.25 respectively for the two categories, effectively making the Centre-state share a ratio of 63:37.
Sources estimate the cooking cost will become nearly double once the schools change to cooking gas. Besides extra recurring expenditure, the schools would need one-time investment on gas connections and other cooking paraphernalia.
Under the centrally sponsored MDM scheme, which is aimed at enhancing enrolment, retention and attendance in schools, the state has been providing cooked meals in around 60,000 schools to over 5.7 million students. Currently, over 98% schools are depending on firewood. Some of the schools which were using LPG have also reverted to firewood after the recent hike in LPG cost.
Confirming the move, director elementary education Sukadeba Dash said the state has requested the Centre to enhance its share on cooking cost, because LPG will be costlier than firewood. "Since LPG will increase the food making cost, the Central government has to increase its allocation," he said.
Sources said Odisha is planning to raise the issue of LPG for MDM during the December 29 meeting of National Development Council (NDC), the statutory advisory body for the country's planning commission, and is presided over by the Prime Minister, at New Delhi.
As per the understanding, the Centre should give 75% of the cooking cost while the state should bear the rest. According to government figures, the cooking cost in states is Rs 3.45 per primary student and Rs 5.15 per upper primary student. However, the Centre is giving Rs 2.17 and Rs 3.25 respectively for the two categories, effectively making the Centre-state share a ratio of 63:37.
Sources estimate the cooking cost will become nearly double once the schools change to cooking gas. Besides extra recurring expenditure, the schools would need one-time investment on gas connections and other cooking paraphernalia.
Under the centrally sponsored MDM scheme, which is aimed at enhancing enrolment, retention and attendance in schools, the state has been providing cooked meals in around 60,000 schools to over 5.7 million students. Currently, over 98% schools are depending on firewood. Some of the schools which were using LPG have also reverted to firewood after the recent hike in LPG cost.
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