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MUMBAI: Around 470 children in Maharashtra have fallen ill after consuming midday meals served under the national scheme in the last five years, raising concerns about the quality of food served in schools. After Bihar, UP and Jharkhand, the state had the highest numbers of children falling sick after eating midday meals.

In all, 4,278 children have fallen sick due to food contamination and 23 have died in Bihar – the only instance of death in 2013, in the last five years, reveals data sought under RTI from Department of School Education & Literacy, MHRD. Overall, 74 instances of food poisoning have been reported from across the country in five years, of which eight were from Maharashtra – the third highest in the country.

In Maharashtra, the number of children who fell ill after consuming midday meals increased from 30 in 2014 to 236 in 2015. While the government has laid down stringent rules for National Programme of Midday Meals , they are flouted. “Education officers and food inspectors are expected to conduct surprise inspections at least twice a year. Headmasters have to visit kitchens of self-help groups twice a month. They have to check if the kitchen is hygienic and if good quality raw materials are used,” said a government official. Teachers have to taste the food half an hour before it is served. BMC schools are served midday meals by 258 self-help groups, which are allotted five to 2,000 schools.

The headmaster of a civic school said tenders are given to those with political contacts. “Many self-help groups are associated with corporators. Headmasters’ complaints go unheeded. Those who lose contracts for flouting norms are back on the rolls within a month or two,” said a civic school’s headmaster. But, he added, not many cases of food poisoning are reported under BMC’s jurisdiction. In 2015, 24 students from a school in Matunga fell ill after consuming the meals.

“Unfortunately, no data is available on action taken, or how many FIRs were filed. While we asked how food is ‘tested’, the reply in the RTI is about how food is ‘tasted’. Use of government labs for testing food is not mandatory,” said Chetan Kothari , the activist who sought the information.

Dr Abhay Shukla of Jan Swasthya Abhiyan said quality concerns about the meals have been raised from time-to-time. “Most self-help groups work with little manpower and funds, which has an impact on quality,” he said. “Community monitoring, funds and training of manpower can definitely ensure better quality of meals,” he said. An RTI by Praja Foundation had shown that utilisation of midday meal budgets had slipped from 81% to 65% over the last three years.

A senior FDA official said tests are carried out only when there are complaints.

