Indira Canteens In Urban Karnataka Starved Of Funds As Massive Farm Loan Waiver Scheme ‘Eats’ In To Budgetary Allocations

Launched last year with a lot of fanfare, Indira Canteen, a much touted welfare scheme of the previous Congress government, is languishing as the current Congress- JD(S) government led by H.D Kumaraswamy has not released funds required for day-to-day maintenance since it assumes office seven months back, Star Of Mysore reported.

In the run up to the last state assembly election, former Chief Minister Siddharamiah, borrowing the idea of the enormously successful low budget canteens pioneered by the AIADMK government in the neighbouring Tamil Nadu, announced a similar scheme in Karnataka called ‘Indira Canteen’. It was launched first in Bengaluru during August 2017 and later in Mysuru during January 2018 with the aim of eradicating hunger by making available affordable and clean food to the poor.

While there are more than 100 canteens in Bengaluru, Mysuru has eleven across the city. It serves vegetarian breakfast, lunch and dinner. While breakfast is served for Rs.5, lunch and dinner is priced at Rs.10

The Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) launched the canteens in January this year and the operations were contracted out to a Delhi-based company operates them. Food is prepared supplied from two centralised kitchens located at Alanahalli and Kumbarakoppal. On a daily basis, each canteen serves closed 500 breakfast, lunch and dinner — a whopping 1,500 plates a day. This scheme has received good response from students, daily wagers, auto-rickshaw drivers and other public.

Since the last seven months, the State Government and the MCC have not settled the dues, the food contractors are left to fend for themselves and are now struggling to meet ends due to shortage of funds.

Though Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy provided an assurance that the old schemes initiated by the Siddharamaiah government including Indira Canteens, sources said that dues to the food contractors have not been cleared ever since the Congress-JD(S) coalition Government assumed power.

A report in Times Of India quoted an official in Urban Development department attributing the fund crunch faced by many welfare schemes including the canteens to the huge financial burden that is imposed on the state in implementing its massive farm loan waiver program

The Star of Mysore report quoted Mysuru Indira Canteen food contractor M.V. Madhu as saying that that the payment for preparation and supply of food has been withheld since May. He also added that the food is served at subsidised rates at Indira Canteens and the implementing agency (MCC) must pay an equal amount of charge for the food contractor as per the agreement.

According to the report, Indira Canteen found decent patronage in the city as number of people consume breakfast and lunch at K.R. Hospital, near CADA Office and other canteens located at Central Business District though thr numbers for dinner is low according to sources. “We have to purchase items like rice, vegetables, pulses and spices from the market on credit and traders cannot endlessly wait for the payment to be released,” he said.

Speaking to The Star Of Mysore, Madhu said he has got an assurance from MCC Commissioner K.H. Jagadeesha that dues will be cleared soon. He said that they have been supplying food items without compromising on the quality and quantity despite the delay in money release.

“The poor have not been deprived of their meal. We have been maintaining the quality and we have not cut down the quantity. Our sole intention is to provide affordable and quality food to the poor and people from economically weaker sections of society. We hope the funds are released soon for this public-friendly scheme,” Madhu added.

Earlier this week a former Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Corporator N R Ramesh raised serious allegations over the transparency in the functioning of Indira Canteens. He accused former chief minister Siddaramaiah and former Bengaluru Development Minister K J George for being involved in a scam that deals with the construction of the canteens in Bengaluru.