A few months ago, Vibhu and I discussed the issues surrounding the delivery of grain for the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Scheme (see here).

This photo essay aims to visually depict the supply chain of grains to schools, as well as some of the school-level issues we’ve observed during our field-work on tracking the flow of grain and funds under MDM.

1. Acquisition of grain
                 

 Farmers make manageable heaps of harvested paddy from paddy stacks before threshing at a village in Bihar. February 2013.

 A family threshes its produce of paddy before taking it to the market. Bihar, February 2013. 

Come harvest season each year, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) procures grain (rice and wheat) from farmers in select states and districts at designated purchasing centres and/or mandis. These grains are allotted to the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) and other schemes including the MDM Scheme.

2. Delivery of grain to godowns and lifting of grains for MDM

Grains once received by the FCI are packed into gunny bags of 50kg each and transported by rakes from the procurement state to regional FCI godowns (warehouses) around the country. Once weighed, stamped and sealed, these bags can not be opened until they reach their final destination. For MDM, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) allots grain to each statebased on the enrolment in elementary schools and the number of working days approved by the Project Approval Board (PAB) during the previous year. At the state-level and below, the MDM Directorate and the District MDM Authority liaise with the FCI and state bodies such as the State Food and Civil Supplies Corporation (SFC) to ensure delivery of grains to schools. (See the PAISA report on the MDM Scheme for more details on the process of grain flow from FCI to schools.)
One of the most persistent complaints we heard from headmasters and teachers relating to grain delivery is that the quantity of grain received at the school is always less: each gunny sack contains anywhere from 3-8kg less. Yet, they have to sign receipt for the stipulated allocation. Officials and contractors overseeing lifting of grains and delivery to schools also say that bags are never properly weighed at any stage.

A labourer sews together a gunny bag in a block godown of the Bihar SFC. February 2013. (Disclaimer: the concern for quality of some of the photographs, such as in this godown where photography was not permitted, was secondary to the effort to depict/document what was going on.)

3. Transportation of grains to school

States have devised different means for the actual lifting and delivery of grains to schools. In Uttar Pradesh, the TPDS dealer or kotedar has to lift grains from the godown and then headmaster (HM) or Gram Panchayat Sarpanch collect grains for the school. Since 2012-13 in Bihar, a contractor has been employed in each block to lift grains from block godowns and deliver them to schools. While there remain several problems in grain delivery, HM’s believe that the plugging in of contractors has significantly decreased their burden and time away from school, and regularized grain delivery to some extent. See our earlier blog postt for a more detailed discussion of bottlenecks that arise during delivery of grains from district to block to schools.

Labourers load grain onto tractors at an SFC block godown in Bihar. February 2013.

Once grains have been delivered to schools, a whole other set of problems arise, from inadequate cooking cost funds to poor storage and cooking facilities to delays in payment of salaries to cook-cum-helpers (CCH). Here I touch upon the latter two problems.

4. Lack of storage facilities and cooking infrastructure in schools

The HM of this primary school (1-5) put a drum after the storage room became infested with rats, which had burrowed through the kitchen as seen in the foreground in the picture on the left. The gunny sacks had also been eaten through, spoiling the grain. Till February 2013, the Bihar Government had not provided storage drums to primary schools, prioritizing middle (6-8) or elementary schools (1-8), where enrollment is usually higher.

Firewood, uple (cow-dung cakes) and other sources of fuel lie discarded in this kitchen, which was situated right beside the classrooms and the open courtyard in a Bihar primary school. Such poor storage practices raise the risk of fires and other accidents in schools. February 2013.

This building-less primary school in Bihar was operating on the outskirts of a village, where all students of classes 1-5 sat together in this tight space next to a house. The two cooks managed the cooking right outside this makeshift “classroom” but kept the cooking area quite clean. July 2013.

5. Issues related to cook-cum-helpers

Each CCH is supposed to undergo training on how to prepare MDM, its nutrition status, and how to maintain a hygienic cooking environment. They are also given a cap and an apron to use while cooking.

Until July 2013, I’d never seen any visible signs that these had been received by cooks; but even when I finally saw these chequered yellow-and-black caps and aprons in this particular school, they were not being used as the cooks didn’t feel the need. Bihar, July 2013.

During a village visit in Bihar, these CCHs (seated centre in blue and pink saris) had not been paid their salaries for over three months. Male members of their families had approached the HM and the Block Education Officer, only to be told that they would just have to wait. The HM was viewed as largely uncooperative and would not approach the block administration on their behalf. Storage facilities had not been optimum in the school and grain had got spoilt on two separate occasions in the past. Once, the son of one of the CCH cleaned the grain using his machine and tools for no charge; the second time, however, the grain had to be thrown away without any replacement. February 2013.

6. Provision of MDM to students

Bharat (name changed) eats his meal of plain boiled rice and a piece of pickle in Bihar two days after the tragedy occurred in Saran district (July 2013). The rice was filled with husk and insects, which he removed by the side of his plate. Students at this school, and their parents, had complained to the HM time and again about the poor quality of food to no avail.

All of the issues mentioned above lead to the end-result of children either not being served MDM according to norm or eating poor-quality food. Events such as Saran’s and elsewhere could be avoided in the future if the existing information flows, and monitoring and grievance redress systems are strengthened. As Ambrish and Mehjabeen have discussed earlier, empowering parents and other community members to play an active role in implementing the scheme would be key to ensuring that the goal of feeding school-children a nutritious meal each day is achieved.