The Chhattisgarh High Court, comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad, has initiated a suo moto public interest litigation (PIL) regarding the poor quality of mid-day meals provided to students in government schools.
The court’s action follows a news article published on November 14, 2024, highlighting the issue.
The news report revealed that students in government schools were being served inadequate and low-quality meals, consisting only of rice, dal, and pickle.
The poor quality has led to most students refusing to eat the meals, resulting in the food being fed to animals.
In some instances, cattle have been observed roaming outside schools to consume the discarded meals.
Taking serious note of the situation, the High Court directed the District Education Officer, Bilaspur, to file a personal affidavit addressing the concerns raised in the news article.
The court’s order emphasizes the importance of ensuring that students receive nutritious and quality meals under the mid-day meal scheme.
The Chhattisgarh High Court’s intervention seeks to enforce accountability and ensure that the state fulfills its obligations toward its students.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on November 27, 2024.
The Advocate General, Prafull Bharat, and Deputy Advocate General, Shashank Thakur, appeared on behalf of the respondents/state.