SRINAGAR: Minister for School Education and Higher Education, Sakeena Itoo, informed the House today that the issue of wage enhancement for Cooks-cum-Helpers working under the PM POSHAN (Mid-Day Meal Scheme) will be taken up in the upcoming Project Approval Board (PAB) meeting.
The Minister was responding to a question raised by Muzaffar Iqbal Khan in the Legislative Assembly.
She said that, as per guidelines and norms set by the Union Ministry of Education under a 90:10 sharing pattern, Cooks-cum-Helpers currently receive a monthly honorarium of Rs 1,000 for preparing a single meal.
The Minister further informed that the demand for an increase in honorarium was raised in the previous PAB meeting under the PM POSHAN scheme. However, it was not approved, with the explanation that wages for Cooks-cum-Helpers are uniformly set across the country and cannot be revised in isolation for any specific state or Union Territory.
Additionally, she clarified that the provision for engaging land donors as casual workers under SRO 520 no longer exists. Consequently, there is no policy in place for providing employment to land donors. However, she noted that the School Education Department is addressing land compensation claims under the UT CAPEX Budget in a phased manner, including those from the Thanamandi Constituency.
Mir Saifullah, Mehraj Malik, and Balwant Singh Mankotia raised supplementary questions during the session.
