The Delhi High Court has said an entity that provided rotten chana (chickpeas) to school children as part of dry ration kits under the PM-POSHAN Scheme during the Covid pandemic cannot be permitted to continue to supply food items as it brings a bad name to a noble cause initiated by the government.
Justice Subramonium Prasad, while hearing a petition by a society against its debarment from supplying mid-day meals under the scheme for providing “sub-standard” food items to a government school here, said the seriousness of the allegations cannot be overlooked as children are the future of the country.
The supply of rotten chana and dalda (a vegetable oil used for cooking) cannot be condoned, as it was the duty of the petitioner to ensure that nutritious meals are provided to the children for their development, the court said.
Since the order of debarment passed by the Directorate of Education did not specify the time limit, the court remanded the matter to the authorities to fix a timeline till which the petitioner shall be debarred from supplying mid-day meal. In the present case, the petitioner supplied a batch of dry food materials to a school here in 2022. It was subsequently found that the chana provided in the kit was rotten and that vanaspati had been given in place of refined oil.
The petitioner assailed its consequent debarment on the ground that packets of chana were opened seven months after delivery and, therefore, rotting could not be ruled out. It also said it was not specified by the authorities concerned that only refined oils were to be supplied and not vanaspati (vegetable oil).
