Meghalaya’s lone Rajya Sabha MP, Wanwei Roy Kharlukhi, has written to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, requesting him to address the grievances of cooks cum helpers under PM POSHAN (Mid Day Meal) scheme.
The Union of Cook cum Helpers PM POSHAN Meghalaya, has recently urged the Centre to increase their monthly honorarium from Rs 900 to Rs 9,000 per month.
It stated that the central government should increase the monthly allowance, which has remained unchanged for the past 20 years.
The union has also urged the Centre and the state government to provide LPG cylinders to cook the midday meals.
“If the government implements LPG, it will help reduce the use of wood for cooking and will improve the health of many of the cooks who are women and especially the health of school children. With this LPG the cooking time will be further reduced,” the union stated.
The state government in 2023 had unilaterally increased its contribution from Rs 100 to Rs 1,100.
The contribution towards PM Poshan is 90:10, with the state government contribution standing at 10 percent while the Centre’s contribution is 90 percent.
