Honorarium for cooks likely soon
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, October 13 2020:
The Government has reportedly initiated due process to release honorariums of cooks engaged under the Mid-Day Meal scheme.
With schools closed on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, meals are not cooked in schools.
As such, monetary value of meals is being given to children/students.
As the mid-day meals are not cooked in schools, a question arose whether honorariums for cooks should be paid or not.
However, funds sanctioned by the Central Government for the Mid-Day Meal scheme are inclusive of honorarium for cooks even if foods are not cooked in schools on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, informed a source.
The State Government even sought a clarification from the Centre on whether cooks should be paid monthly honorariums when they are no longer cooking any meal.
Pointing out that there has been no instruction not to pay honorariums of cooks even if they are not cooking meals, the Ministry concerned questioned the State Government as to why cooks should not be paid their monthly honorarium.
As such, monthly honorariums of cooks are likely to be released soon, said the source.
Allocation for up to the month of June has been already released and now due process is underway to release the next allocation for up to the month of September.
Honorarium for cooks of Mid-Day Meal scheme are paid through DCs who are also Chairman of respective District Board of Education.
Some of the DCs are not registered with the public finance management section.
As a result, they encounter problems in transferring honorariums to the bank accounts of cooks which leads to undue delay in paying monthly honorarium.
Moreover, some DCs hold back the honorarium for as long as 100 days.
Taking all these points into consideration, the authorities have been considering about releasing necessary fund through ZEOs so that the monthly honorariums of cooks can be transferred swiftly to their respective bank accounts, informed the source.