Minister inspects and warned contractors
Tamil Nadu Social Welfare Minister A.Poongothai today warned contractors of stringent action, including blacklisting, against supplying small sized eggs to the noon meal centres across the State.The Minister, who visited a centre in Siddapudur in the city, expressed surprise over the size of the eggs kept in the kitchen to be given to the students.The contractors would be blacklisted, if they supplied 'mini-sized eggs,' in future in any of the noon-meal centres in the state, she told reporters later.The prevailing one-week tender system to supply eggs, would now be changed to one-month, she said.Saying that the students were not allowed to go near the kitchen, following a recent incident of the death of a student who fell into the vessel with hot 'sambar' at Chennai, she said Chief Minister Karunanidhi had issued orders to modernise the centres, particularly kitchens.She said that 750 centres have been modernised at a cost of Rs.One crore last year and the department would spend Rs.Two crore this year for the purpose.
At least Rs.75 crore was needed for modernisation of the 45,000 noon-meal centres in the state, by which 75 lakh students were benefitted, she said.Steps were being taken to provide LPG cylinders (cooking gas) to the centres, where firewood was being used at present, she said.
