The Patna High Court has expressed serious concern over repeated incidents of food poisoning among schoolchildren in Bihar linked to adulterated midday meals (MDM). The court has directed senior officials to tighten monitoring of food safety standards across all schools in the state.
Court Orders Enhanced Coordination
A division bench comprising Justices Rajiv Ranjan Prasad and Mohit Kumar Shah, while hearing a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL), ordered the additional chief secretary of the education department to coordinate with the mission director of the MDM and POSHAN scheme. The objective is to ensure hygienic preparation of meals served to students.
Meeting of Stakeholders Ordered
The court also directed senior officials to convene a meeting of all stakeholders within a week. The purpose of this meeting is to explore the feasibility of providing separate hygienic kitchens in every school instead of relying on centralized kitchen systems.
The bench observed that currently, out of 69,000 schools in Bihar that provide midday meals, 55,000 have separate kitchens run by respective Vidyalay Seva Samiti. The remaining 14,000 schools are catered through centralized kitchens operated by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The officers have been directed to submit a compliance report by June 18.
Background of the PIL
The PIL was initiated after the court took cognizance of a letter from an advocate of the Telangana High Court. The letter referred to media reports of over 150 schoolchildren being hospitalized in Saharsa district after consuming midday meals. Subsequent forensic reports allegedly indicated the presence of a small snake in the food supplied through a centralized kitchen.
Displeasure Over Investigation Delays
The bench expressed displeasure over the handling of the investigation in Saharsa. It directed the district police superintendent to identify officers responsible for delays in sending food samples to the forensic laboratory at Bhagalpur.
The court raised concerns over the health and safety of children, observing that the issue requires continuous judicial monitoring given the scale of centralized kitchens operating across Bihar schools.
