No asst cook recruitment for mid-day meal in 35 dists, govt's assurance in thin air

CHENNAI: It has been six months since the Department of Social Welfare and Women’s Empowerment started interviews to fill 8,997 cook assistant positions in noon-meal centres across the State to ease the burden on noon-meal workers, responding to their demands. But the department is yet to employ assistant cooks in 35 districts.

The department announced in December 2024 that it would fill 8,997 cook assistant positions with a monthly salary of Rs 3,000, following demands from workers to address vacancies.

After the interviews began, the department has employed 103 cook assistants for Chennai, 153 assistants for Thiruvarur, and over 100 for Kancheepuram districts to date. However, the vacancies for the 35 districts are pending.

An official at the social welfare department said that the delay was due to legal concerns over reservation. “Though the announcement was made in December 2024, it had to be halted to provide reservation for differently-abled persons. Interviewing candidates only commenced in April because of this issue,” the official said, assuring that vacancies in the remaining districts, which have finalised the number of workers needed, will be filled in a couple of months.

Additionally, the department will also begin distributing gas cylinders and new utensils for the noon meals centres in the State. Repair and redevelopment works are underway at most districts, says the department official. There are 1.43 lakh noon-meal centres currently operating across the State. The Department of Social Welfare and Women Empowerment has sanctioned about 1.50 lakh posts to operate these centres.

However, noon-meal cooks and organisers allege that there are currently only 40,000 staff working under the noon-meal scheme, leaving a high number of vacancies and forcing them to take on more work for a meagre pay.

Additionally, according to official data, as of April 2024, there have been more than 19,000 vacant posts for organisers, over 9,000 vacant posts for cooks, and over 24,000 vacant posts for cook assistants. On the whole, more than 53,000 positions are vacant as of the sanctioned 1.28 lakh posts to run the scheme.

PROMISE UNFULFILLED

The government announced to fill 8,997 cook assistant posts for a monthly pay of Rs 3,000 in December 2024

As of date, only 103 posts were filled in Chennai, 153 in Tiruvarur, over 100 in Kancheepuram districts

No cook assistant appointment has been made in 35 districts after December 2024

Issues over reservation for differently abled delayed the recruitment process, which only started by April 2025, officials point out

As per reports, only 40,000 people are employed under the noon-meal scheme against a sanctioned strength of 1.28 lakh