Srinagar, Apr 08: : Jammu and Kashmir Government on Tuesday said that Mid Day Meal Cooks have been appointed under the PM POSHAN Scheme on a purely temporary basis, receiving a monthly honorarium of Rs. 1000. Their role is specifically to cook and serve meals to children, and they are not required to be present in the school for the entire day.
In response to a query from MLA Pawan Kumar Gupta during the Assembly session, the minister in charge of school education reiterated that these cooks are engaged temporarily under the PM POSHAN Scheme, with the same monthly honorarium structure. Their presence in schools is limited to the tasks of cooking and serving meals.
“The remuneration for Mid Day Meal Cooks is standardized across the nation in accordance with the guidelines set forth by the Ministry of Education, Government of India. The Jammu and Kashmir Government is obligated to comply with these established norms. Nevertheless, the School Education Department has raised the issue of increasing the honorarium with the Ministry of Education and will continue to advocate for this matter more assertively,” the minister stated.
It is important to note that Mid Day Meal Cooks and similar workers receive a monthly honorarium of Rs. 1000, following the 90:10 sharing pattern.
The minister acknowledged that while their monthly compensation is indeed low, it is essential to recognize that workers engaged under the PM POSHAN and other centrally sponsored schemes are compensated uniformly across the country, as per the Ministry of Education’s guidelines. States and Union Territories are required to adhere to these payment standards.
The School Education Department has been actively advocating for an increase in wages to the Ministry of Education, Government of India; however, this request has yet to be granted. The Department will continue to pursue this matter vigorously with the Ministry.
