Lucknow, May 20 (IANS) Principals and teachers of around 105 government-run schools in Uttar Pradesh’s Hamirpur district will face action for irregularities in the mid-day meal (MDM) scheme, an official said Wednesday.
“In the ongoing surprise inspection we found that the schools were not providing regular lunch to their students under the MDM scheme,” official in-charge of primary education in the district Mahendra Kumar told IANS on phone.

“Of the 105-odd schools, 70 had not given lunch to students since last January. Majority of these schools are situated on the outskirts of Hamirpur district in villages including Kanjauri, Dera, Para, Chani, Banda, Kalkapurwa, and Karimati,” Kumar added.

Kumar has written to the district magistrate for initiating action against the school staff.

In Hamirpur, which is about 300-km from Lucknow, there are 790 primary schools and 364 upper primary schools.

According to rules, every child should be provided with a meal each day for at least 200 days a year, officials said.

About 150,000 schools are covered under the MDM scheme in Uttar Pradesh. Under the scheme, lunch is provided to students till Class 8. Over 18.6 million students are enrolled under the scheme.

The National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education, also known as Mid-Day Meal Programme, was launched by the central government Aug 15, 1995.