Hyderabad: Mid-day meal agencies and cooking workers have sought a revision of the mid-day meal egg price, saying the government’s reimbursement of ₹6 per egg no longer matches the market rate. They claimed rising egg prices were making it difficult to supply the mandated three eggs per week to students in government schools.
According to the workers, an egg now costs around ₹8.50 in the open market, while some areas are reportedly charging up to ₹9. They said the gap between the reimbursement rate and the market price has placed a significant financial burden on agencies implementing the scheme.
The workers stated that more than 10.55 lakh students receive eggs under the mid-day meal programme. They alleged that some agencies had reduced the weekly supply from three eggs to two because they could not absorb the additional cost. Consequently, parents, student organisations, and local public representatives have reportedly raised objections.
Mid-day meal egg price gap increases financial burden
Agency representatives estimated that they were losing about ₹2 on every egg supplied. They claimed the combined annual loss for agencies and women’s groups had reached nearly ₹30.35 crore based on the current reimbursement rate.
They cited the example of a government school in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district with 52 students. According to the workers, the school receives ₹312 per day for eggs under the scheme but spends around ₹442, resulting in a daily loss of ₹130.
Furthermore, the workers said they were already coping with rising vegetable prices while receiving a monthly honorarium of only ₹3,000. They urged the government to revise the mid-day meal egg price in line with prevailing market rates so that schools could continue providing the prescribed nutrition to students.