The state government is moving to expand the role of the ISKCON in supplying meals under the Mid-Day Meal, now known as the PM POSHAN scheme, to government-sponsored schools in several districts of West Bengal. After taking responsibility for supplying meals to a number of schools in Kolkata, the organisation is now set to extend its operations to selected areas of Howrah, North 24 Parganas, Purulia and East Medinipur.

According to sources in the School Education Department, final approval has been granted for ISKCON to supply PM POSHAN meals to schools in the Dum Dum, Bidhannagar, Rajarhat and New Town areas of North 24 Parganas. Several schools in Howrah and Purulia are also being brought under the new arrangement. In East Medinipur, the responsibility will extend to schools in the Nandigram-I and Nandigram-II blocks.

Sources said the organisation submitted a written proposal to the state government on July 11. Following a review of the proposal, the government granted approval for the expansion.

The Education Department has subsequently instructed the concerned authorities to coordinate with the local administration and take the necessary steps to begin the meal-supply process.

Launch date yet to be announced

Despite the approval, the government has not yet announced a specific date for the new system to become operational. The exact timeline for meals supplied by the organisation to reach schools in the newly included areas remains unclear. An Education Department official indicated that the government’s plans regarding the launch could become clearer in the coming days.

The expansion follows the state government’s earlier decision to hand over responsibility for PM POSHAN meal preparation and supply to ISKCON-linked Akshaya Patra in a number of Kolkata schools.

That decision had triggered controversy, particularly over concerns surrounding the provision of vegetarian meals to students under the arrangement. The issue was subsequently addressed after the Chief Minister intervened. The state government arranged to provide eggs separately to students, helping to bring the controversy to an end.

Kolkata implementation still underway

The Akshaya Patra system has not yet been introduced in all Kolkata schools. The state government had earlier indicated that schools across the city would be brought under the arrangement in phases rather than simultaneously.
The full implementation in Kolkata is therefore expected to take several more months.

Meanwhile, the government’s decision to extend the organisation’s responsibilities to selected areas of four additional districts marks a further expansion of the model beyond the state capital.

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