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Journalism of Courage
Spelling out zero tolerance for disruption and delay in the implementation of the mid-day meal scheme,the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has written to all state governments asking them to set up a grievance redressal mechanism to keep a tab on the programme.
Catering to nearly 11 crore school children across the country,the MDM has often come into news with reports of students complaining about food quality or taking ill after a meal.
Attempting to check these instances,the Ministry has detailed all the modalities to ensure transparency in the grievance redressal process.
In a letter to the state governments,the Ministry has recommended that each state should appoint nodal officers with whom complaints can be lodged. A call centre should also be set up at the state headquarters connected to a toll free number to which people can call up or SMS if they have a grievance regarding the implementation of the mid-day meal scheme in their area.
That apart,the Ministry has also said that each complaint must be redressed within three days and a report of the action taken be sent to grievance registration cell in another two days. That apart,the complainant must also be informed of the redressal status or sent a copy of the redressal report,the Ministry has said.
The Ministry has also suggested that states take cognizance of press reports on disruptions or grievances related to the scheme and take remedial action in a time bound manner.
The step follows from the 12th report of the Administrative Reforms Commission titled Citizen Centric Administration The Heart of Governance that recommended that it be mandatory for all government organisations to develop a mechanism for receiving feedback from citizens for gauging their response to their services.
