Govt. to resume supply of meals in anganwadis

However, the Puratchi Thalaivar MGR Nutritious Meal Scheme will recommence only after schools reopen

The State government on Wednesday informed the Madras High Court that it would recommence the supply of cooked meals to around 11.77 lakh children, aged two to six, at 54,439 anganwadis in the State by September 1. The supply has remained suspended since March 17, 2020, due to COVID-19; instead, the beneficiaries were being given dry rations. Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P.D. Audikesavalu were informed by Advocate-General R. Shunmugasundaram that no pre-school activities would be conducted for children when the anganwadis reopen the next month, but their parents and guardians could collect the cooked nutritious food between 11.30 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. on all working days. The submissions were made during the hearing of a public interest litigation petition filed by the Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group, an NGO, which said the supply of hot cooked nutritious meals to needy children could not remain suspended indefinitely, especially in the light of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) of 2013.