Northern states paying peanuts to mid-day meal cooks

Ground Report | New Delhi: Mid-day meal cooks; Nearly two-thirds of those hired as cooks for the midday meal plan are paid less than Rs 2,000 a month. There are almost 25 lakh cooks and helpers (CCH) participating in the scheme, which is now known as PM Poshan.

Mid-day meal cooks

According to the Indian Express, the monthly payment of cooks has been frozen at 1,000 rupees since 2009 in eight states and three Union territories. Additionally, in five states, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, West Bengal, and Odisha, there have been minor increases in monthly payments, but they remain well below Rs 2,000. These five states make up nearly a third of the midday meal workforce.

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Senior Union government official said that the Ministry of Education, in 2018 and 2020, proposed an increase in salaries to Rs 2,000, but the proposals were rejected by the Ministry of Finance, which held that states should complete the payment based on requirements and demands. This is also the common response of the Ministry of Education when states demand an increase in CCH fees.

“Cooks and helpers are classified as honorary workers who have come forward to provide social services. They are not considered workers and consequently, the minimum wage legislation is not applied to them, ”said the official. Under PM Poshan, funds for payments to cooks and workers are divided by the Center in a 60:40 ratio with the states and UT with the legislatures.

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Salary Of Mid Day Meal cook in Different states

One Union Territory and two states and in the south - Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala - pay CCH up to Rs 21,000, Rs 12,000, and Rs 9,000 respectively on a monthly basis.

In five states, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, West Bengal, and Odisha there have been small increases in monthly payments, but they remain well below Rs 2,000. These five states make up nearly a third of the midday meal workforce.

In eight states and three Union territories, the monthly salary of this workforce remains frozen at Rs 1,000 since 2009.

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