Raipur, Aug 20 (NationPress) In a decisive act against administrative negligence, the Chhattisgarh High Court has mandated the state government to provide Rs 25,000 compensation to each of the 84 children from the Government Pre-Secondary School located in Lachhanpur village, Palari block. These children were served a meal that had been tainted by a stray dog and subsequently received anti-rabies injections without obtaining parental consent or departmental notification.

The case is scheduled for further hearing on September 17.

The troubling incident, which unfolded on July 28, was only uncovered after a news outlet reported it on August 2.

Investigations revealed that a stray dog had accessed the school kitchen and consumed part of the vegetable curry meant for the mid-day meal. Shockingly, despite this knowledge, both the cook and the headmaster in charge served the contaminated food to the students. Following parental complaints, all 84 children were discreetly administered three doses of anti-rabies injections, while the school neglected to inform the Education Department.

During the hearing on Tuesday, a division bench led by Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice BD Guru expressed grave concern regarding the findings presented by the district Collector and the response from the Education Department.

The court concluded that the state had breached its responsibility to guarantee safe and hygienic meals for schoolchildren, ordering that compensation be disbursed within one month. “The government and the self-help group responsible for the mid-day meals exhibited negligence. The food was unsuitable for consumption, and despite administering anti-rabies injections, the incident was concealed. It is fitting that Rs 25,000 be awarded by the State to each student who consumed the tainted meal,” the bench remarked.

In the wake of media scrutiny and initial investigations, the Jai Laxmi Self Help Group, which was managing the mid-day meal, was dismissed. On August 5, District Collector Deepak Soni suspended the school’s headmaster, Netram Giri, and teacher Vedprakash Patel. Furthermore, annual salary increments for three other teachers—LB Ravilal Sahu, LB Nemichand Baghel, and LB Nampyari Dhruv—were halted due to their neglect of duty.

On August 6, cluster coordinator Yogesh Kumar Patel was also found guilty of negligence for not reporting the incident to higher authorities. District Education Officer Rakesh Sharma confirmed the court’s directive and stated that measures are being implemented to prevent such oversights in the future.

This case has ignited widespread public outrage and has intensified calls for stringent oversight of mid-day meal programs throughout the state.