Durg: The state government has decided to transfer its share of the cooking cost component in the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) scheme for students of classes 1 to 8 directly into their bank accounts as a one-time Covid relief through direct benefit transfer (DBT). “This decision will help safeguard the nutritional levels of children and aid in protecting their immunity during the challenging pandemic times,” an official statement said.
There are 1.5 lakh children of the Durg district who are covered under the mid-day meal scheme. The Directorate of Public Instruction has asked for the details of the account of these children or parents. The scheme is currently being run by self-help groups, who have been paid by the government for mid-day meals. The cooking cost for a day for primary children is Rs 5.19 and for middle children at Rs 7.45. A dry ration for 39 days will be given to the children. Similarly, a primary child will get Rs 202.41 and a middle child will get Rs 290.55.
Directorate of Public Instruction said that the information of students from class 1st to 8th under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme should be entered in the portal by the end of this month. There are 899 primary and middle schools in Durg, Dhamdha and Patan blocks. If the children do not have their bank account, then the account number of the parents will be given. Moreover, details like the Aadhar card number, IFSC code number of the bank has been asked. This information will be updated in the portal of the block to mid-day meal scheme and sent to the state by August 10th carrying further the procedure.