Al Haqeeqa
Hyderabad MP and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday, November 26, asked the education ministry whether cooks and helpers in government schools across India were provided an honorarium under Prime Minister Poshan scheme.
Speaking during the Question Hour in Lok Sabha, Owaisi said that the honorarium provided to cooks has not been increased since 2009. He asked if state governments were providing additional amounts to the cooks at government schools under the PM Poshan scheme.
Responding to the queries, minister of state for education Jayant Chaudhry said, “PM Poshan scheme is a centrally sponsored scheme implemented in partnership with the states and UTs. The overall responsibility for the smooth functioning of the scheme includes providing a hot cooked and nutritious meal to the eligible children as well as engagement of cook-cum-helpers (CCHs) lies with the state governments and Union Territory administrations.”
Chaudhry further explained that CCHs are honorary workers who have come forward to render social services. As per the guidelines of the PM Poshan scheme, the honorarium of Rs 1000 per month for 10 months in a year is prescribed for the CCHs in recognition of their services and the same is being continued. The honorarium expenditure is shared between the Centre and state governments as per the approved sharing pattern.
Speaking of the additional honorarium, the Union minister clarified that the state governments and Union Territories also supplement the honorarium by providing additional funds from their resources.
Honorarium for cooks at government schools in Telangana
According to the data shared by the education ministry regarding the honorarium to cooks and helpers under the PM Poshan scheme, cooks employed at government schools in Telangana receive Rs 3,000 from the Centre and an additional Rs 2,000 from the state government.
