Karnataka govt tells HC that it will complete food distribution for school children by January

The State Government on Tuesday informed the Karnataka High Court that it will complete the distribution of food items to school children for the month of August, September, and October 2020 by January 15, 2021, to compensate for the fact that the mid-day meal had not been provided to them as schools are closed due to COVID-19 pandemic.

A division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Aravind Kumar accepted the assurance given to that effect by the state government through the affidavit filed by the Principal Secretary SR Uma Shankar, Department of Primary and Secondary Education. In the affidavit, Uma Shankar has stated that state shall endeavour to strictly abide by the timelines specified in the corrigendum order issued on December 2020. "I state that since the finalisation and quantification of food items to be distributed was delayed, it is expected that there will be a short delay in the completion of the distribution process for the backing months of August, September, and October 2020, which was originally scheduled to be completed by December 31, 2020," he said.

He also stated that it is now expected that there will be the endeavour of the state to shorten the delay to the maximum extent possible. Therefore, the outer limit for completing the distribution of food items for the month of August, September, and October 2020 will be January 15, 2021, he gave assurance to the court. He further stated that for the remaining months, the timeline stated in the order dated December 15, 2020 will be strictly adhered to and directions will be issued in this regard to the concerned officials to ensure that there are no delays. The compliance reports indicating the distribution of food items across the State will be filed before this court time to time, he has stated in the affidavit.