Madhya Pradesh: Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurates central kitchen that will prepare mid-day meals for 47,000 students in Bhopal

Schoolchildren eat their free mid-day meal. Image: (Reuters)

A centralised kitchen that will prepare mid-day meals for nearly 47,000 school children was inaugurated here by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday.

The facility, spread over 1 acre, will provide hot and nutritious meals to students in government-run primary and middle schools in the urban areas of the Bhopal district, Chouhan said. Mid-day meals are given to students in government and government-aided schools across the country under the PM Poshan Programme.

CM Chouhan said the state government has signed an agreement with the Akshaya Patra Foundation, a Bengaluru-headquartered NGO, to run the kitchen. More such organisations will be roped in to provide mid-day meals in government schools in the state, he said.

The kitchen has come up at a cost of Rs 12 crore spent by HEG Limited, which will also give Rs 7 crore a year to provide additional dishes like cake, 'sweet dalia' and 'kheer' to the students, said Chouhan.

The NGO said the kitchen is the biggest mid-day meal facility in Madhya Pradesh and will serve food to students in 900 schools.