- NDTV had reported about students at a Madhya Pradesh school being served meals on crumpled newspapers
- A school teacher was suspended for negligence
- The Sheopur district magistrate has now ordered a strict review of the midday meal scheme across the district
Two days after NDTV's report revealed that students at Hullpur Government School in Sheopur were being served their midday meals on sheets of waste paper, the district administration swung into action. On Saturday, the same children who had been eating food on crumpled newspapers were finally served meals on steel plates.
The development followed a sharp reaction from Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who took to social media platform X on Thursday after reading NDTV's story.
Tagging NDTV's reporter, Gandhi wrote, "I'm going to Madhya Pradesh today. Since I saw the news that children there were being served midday meals on newspapers, my heart is broken. These are the innocent children whose dreams depend on the country's future and they don't even have a plate of dignity. More than 20 years of BJP rule, and even children's plates were stolen. Their 'development' is just an illusion; the real secret to power is 'system'. Such a Chief Minister and Prime Minister should be ashamed."
His post titled "Children's plates stolen" went viral, prompting swift administrative response in Sheopur.
The Madhya Pradesh government was quick to counter the Congress leader's criticism. School Education Minister Uday Pratap Singh issued a statement asserting that corrective steps were already underway before Rahul Gandhi's post.
"Even before his tweet, the sensitive government under Dr Mohan Yadav had acted against the self-help group and school teacher responsible. Monitoring teams have been formed to ensure such negligence is not repeated."
Singh also hit back politically, questioning the Congress's record.
"We ask why, in November 2024, about 50 students in Telangana's Narayanpet district were hospitalised after eating a midday meal made with rotten grains. Is the Congress chief minister of Telangana and Rahul Gandhi ashamed of that? Has any action been taken there?"
The minister said the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh "remains committed to good governance" and "takes strict action wherever errors occur."
Following the controversy, former Forest Minister Ramnivas Rawat and subdivisional magistrate Abhishek Mishra visited Hullpur School on Saturday, joining the children for lunch to review the food's quality and cleanliness. "Such negligence will no longer be tolerated," they said.
The officials confirmed that the school in-charge Bhogiram Dhakad had been suspended and that the self-help group's contract for supplying food had been cancelled.
The controversy began on November 4, when a video surfaced showing children eating their midday meal off discarded paper sheets. The visuals, which quickly went viral, drew widespread criticism for the administration's apathy.
Following the video's circulation, District Education Officer Harishankar Garg visited the school and filed a detailed report. The self-help group responsible consisting of five women claimed that only three workers were available that week and that they had used paper to "avoid dishwashing." Parents had reportedly not filed any complaints before the video came to light.
Collector and District Magistrate Arpit Verma has now ordered a strict review of the midday meal scheme across the district. He directed all school principals and panchayat officials to ensure hygienic conditions and adequate utensils for every child.
"Negligence in providing food to children will not be tolerated. Strict action will be taken against any official or group found responsible," Verma said.
What began as an NDTV's story has now forced the system to act and for the first time in weeks, the children of Hullpur didn't have to eat off scraps of paper, but from plates of dignity.
