Southern States - Tamil Nadu   

Allowance up for meal centres

By Radha Venkatesan

Chennai Dec. 17. After an eight-month wait, children at noon meal centres in the State will now get a 12- paise increase each in the daily allowance for vegetables. Last week, the cash-strapped Government finally allocated Rs.20.98 crores to implement its promise made to the Assembly on increasing the vegetable and fuel subsidy from 23 to 35 paise a child a day.

According to the government order, the allocation for buying vegetables for each child will go up from 11.5 to 15 paise. For salt and condiments, it has been doubled to nine paise, while for fuel cost, a 11-paise subsidy will be given, up from the earlier allocation of 7 paise.

In effect, the 81.50 lakh children at the 71,721 meal centres will be assured their daily quota of 50 gm vegetables. The increase was announced in the Assembly On April 26, by the Social Welfare Minister, B.Valarmathi, following representations from workers at meal centres that the allocation was too measly to serve the children nutritious vegetables.

Also, with the Government providing baked potatoes and cooked dhal, instead of egg given once a week, the staff demanded a higher allocation for fuel.

But, the promise remained on paper for eight months, as the Finance department could not find funds to provide for the increased subsidy.

The Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, while rejecting the government staff unions' demand for more pay benefits, pointed out in the House at October-end that the financial crisis was so intense that the Government was unable to give the 12- paise increase in the allocation for children at meal centres. But, with the GO issued now, the increased subsidy allocation, drawn from the contingency fund, would come into effect from December 5.

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