Assam: Rs 14 crore released for kitchen utensils in 40,154 schools

Staff reporter

GUWAHATI: The Assam government released Rs 14,10,73,925 (14.1 crore) for procurement of cast-iron cauldrons (kedahi) with stainless steel lids for preparation of mid-day meals in schools. The fund was released under the Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&B) of Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) for the financial year 2023-24.

The mission director of Samagra Shiksha, Assam (SSA), and a state nodal officer of PM POSHAN, informed the SSA District Mission Coordinators  and assistant district nodal officers of PM POSHAN of all districts, about the release of the fund. The district officers will release the funds to the schools for the procurement of cast-iron cauldrons (kedahi). The fund will be released to a total of 40,154 schools.

The state nodal officer of PM POSHAN also instructed district officers to follow certain terms and conditions while releasing the funds to schools. According to the terms and conditions, based on total enrollment of students studying in ka-shreni (class ‘ka’) to class VIII, schools were categorized in four sets of A,B,C & D for procurement of kitchen devices for preparing mid-day meals at schools.

From the total of 40,154 schools, the numbers of schools that fall under Set A category are 16,209 in numbers; Set B category includes 17,149 number of schools; Set C includes 4346 numbers; and 2,450 number of schools fall under Set D category. Set A category schools will receive Rs 2,035, under Set B category the school will receive Rs 4,090, under Set C schools will receive Rs 5,150, and Set D category schools will receive Rs 6,354 for procurement of iron cauldrons.

Schools under Set A will procure one medium-size cauldron with a stainless steel lid; schools under Set B will procure two medium-size cauldrons; Set C will procure one big-size cauldron; and Set D will procure one medium-size cauldron and one big-size cauldron.

The SMCs (School Management Committees) or SMDCs (School Management and Development Committees) of every school will procure the utensils and these committees must follow the procurement guidelines laid down under Assam Public Procurement Rule 2020 and the guidelines issued by SSA.

The state nodal officer said, “After receiving the funds, the schools will need to purchase the supplies in less than a month and turn in the utilization certificates.”

Also Read: Assam: DoNER considering proposal for smart classrooms in state’s 812 schools (sentinelassam.com)

Also watch: