Delay on the part of State governments to pick up their allocation for the Mid-Day Meal programme in April has cost them dear. As per a directive of the Union Food Ministry, the allocation for the first month of this fiscal has lapsed; a decision that has not gone down too well with the Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry. While HRD Ministry appreciates the rationale in the Food Ministry's contention that there should not be any retrospective lifting of foodgrains, it is of the view that the decision should not be forced upon States without a warning.