PATNA, June 5 -- School teachers in Bihar will soon be relieved of the responsibility of managing mid-day meal schemes for primary and secondary sections. The state education department has decided to enlist the services of the Akshaya Patra Foundation, which will provide nutritious meals to students from its centralised kitchen. On Wednesday, the state cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, approved the education department's proposal to allocate about 1.5 acres of land at Naubatpur, on the outskirts of Patna, for setting up a state-of-the-art kitchen to serve 35,000-40,000 students daily. Although an agreement was signed with the Bengaluru-based non-profit organisation in 2021 under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Yojana to prepare meals for schools in Patna district, the plan did not materialise. Officials said the foundation was unable to set up its kitchen as the land allotted to it in Danapur belonged to the defence ministry, and the state government did not have the authority to transfer it. A senior official of the foundation said that construction of the kitchen was left incomplete due to the dispute over land ownership, and the land size was also inadequate. To start with, the foundation will provide mid-day meals to students in Patna district from its kitchen in Naubatpur. It may set up an additional kitchen if needed to cater to more students. Additional Chief Secretary (Education), S. Siddharth, said the initiative would allow teachers to focus fully on teaching, without being burdened by non-teaching tasks. "Moreover, students will receive more nutritious food without any additional cost," he added. An official of the foundation said the meal menu requires an expenditure of around Rs.15 per student, whereas the state government's allocation is around Rs.7-Rs.7.50 per student. "Even though the foundation will provide more nutritious meals, it will not charge anything extra from the state government and will bear the additional expenses under the PM Poshan Yojana," he said, adding that a fresh memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed with the education department soon. The state government currently provides mid-day meals to over 1 crore students enrolled in 42,573 primary schools and 25,587 middle schools across Bihar. Initially, the Akshaya Patra Foundation will begin operations in Patna, with plans to expand the service to schools in Madhubani, Darbhanga, and Muzaffarpur in later phases. Regarding the cooks already engaged in preparing mid-day meals, ACS Siddharth said they would continue to serve meals, clean utensils, and ensure that every student receives their meal properly....