'Nutrition Needs Of Children Not Compromised In New Menu': Lakshadweep Administration Responds To Kerala High Court

'Nutrition needs of the children can easily be satisfied with the altered menu,' the Lakshadweep Administration recently submitted before the Kerala High Court in response to a plea challenging, among other things, removal of non-vegetarian food items from mid-day meal food menu for school children.Earlier, a Division Bench comprising of Chief Justice S Manikumar and Justice Shaji P Chaly had stayed the impugned regulation, observing that the menu for the mid-day meal has been followed for several years. The development came on a PIL filed by Advocate Ajmal Ahmed R.However, in its statement, the Administration alleged that the petitioner 'used public interest litigation as a tool for raising unfounded and unverified allegations against the Administration and the present Administrator in charge.' It was accordingly asserted that the petitioner merely aims for publicity, thereby implying that the writ petition was an abuse of the process of the court. The Petitioner had claimed that decisions taken after Praful Khoda Patel assumed office of Administrator have largely affected the interest of people.The Respondent on the other hand pointed out that the decision to omit meat and chicken was taken in the meeting of the UT Level Steering Cum Monitoring Committee held on 27th January 2021, in which the Administrator was not a participant. Therefore, no suggestion or direction was given to the committee by the Administrator in this regard which makes the allegation raised by the petitioner baseless and malicious. Coming to the merits of the matter, the Administration argued that the Mid-Day Meal Rules r/w section 39(2)(b) of the National Food Security Act only prescribed levels of calories and proteins to be provided to children. There was no stipulation whatsoever that meat and chicken should be necessarily provided in the Mid-Day Meal. The respective State/ UT governments were asserted to be free to decide the menu in any appropriate manner satisfying the nutritional requirements. The statement also pointed out that many other states like Goa, West Bengal, Puducherry, and Andaman and Nicobar followed a vegetarian menu. In addition, it was submitted that the content of fish and egg was increased to substitute chicken and that this can provide a balanced nutrition to the children. 'Fish and eggs are the ideal non-vegetarian food source for growing kids as it is a rich source of protein, Vitamin-A, Omega 3, amino acid and helps in growth and development of children's brain,' the statement read. Moreover, although meat was provided in the earlier menu, it had to be substituted frequently due to non-availability. This was because in Lakshadweep, fresh fish was more easily available on a daily basis for consumption in comparison to meat.Another aspect in the counter affidavit was that in Lakshadweep, meat and chicken are normally part of the regular menu in almost all families, while consumption of fruits and dry fruits was very less among the islanders. Therefore, the omitting of meat and chicken from the menu of mid-day meals schemes and inclusion of fruits and dry fruits was perfectly in tune with the objective of the mid-day meal scheme, the Administration contended.It was submitted that nutrition needs of the children can easily be satisfied with the altered menu. Further, the Administration emphasised that the school Mid-Day Meal was meant to be an addition to, and not a substitute for, meals which parents should provide to the children at home. It was also highlighted that the Administration was providing mid-day meals from pre-primary till Grade XII although the Central Government guidelines only made mandatory till Grade VIII.The petition had contended that the physician present in the Steering cum Monitoring Committee meeting had suggested inclusion of non-vegetarian items in the mid-day meals and that her suggestions were not considered. The Administration claims that the petitioner omitted to mention that the physician had also suggested dry fruits, and that this opinion was taken seriously, pursuant to which dry fruits were added to the menu for the first time."Providing nutritious food to the children is government's concern and the same is not compromised anywhere as alleged by the petitioner. There is no uniform structure for the MDM scheme menu, only thing is that; sufficient nutrition should be provided." On these grounds, it was submitted that the decision to make slight changes in the menu was taken after considering all relevant circumstances and without compromising the nutritional requirements.Other Arguments in the Counter AffidavitDairy FarmsThe petition had also stated that the islanders were engaged in animal husbandry activities. The Administration refuted this statement and clarified that due to the geographical isolation of the islands and scarcity of green fodder, animal husbandry activities are not common and popular in the islands. The Administration also denied the allegation that it...

'Nutrition Needs Of Children Not Compromised In New Menu': Lakshadweep Administration Responds To Kerala High Court

Hannah M Varghese

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