Aam Aadmi Party canteens in Delhi to serve ten rupee thalis

Delhi will soon get "Aam Aadmi Canteens," a la Tamil Nadu, where "good quality, hygienic and nutritious food" will be available for up to Rs.10, it was announced on Thursday.

The Delhi Dialogue Commission's proposal was formally approved by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the commission's vice chairman Ashish Khetan told the media, setting the ball rolling for its implementation. There was no official word on the subsidy the scheme would require.

The food would be sold at "reasonable rates — with the maximum amount being Rs.10," said Khetan, an Aam Aadmi Party leader who had contested the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Every canteen would serve three meals — breakfast, lunch, and dinner — and would be fitted with RO systems for pure drinking water. The menu would be varied and nutritious, he said.

The canteens target the lower strata of society: an estimated 10 lakh construction workers, five lakh street hawkers, and over four lakh families living in slums. "Rickshaw pullers, daily wage labourers, construction workers and others employed in high labour intensive work have no choice but to consume unhygienic or insufficiently nutritious food that is prepared and served in insanitary conditions," Khetan said, adding that the decision was taken "keeping in mind the high cost of nutritious and hygienic meals in Delhi."

The model was prepared after a survey of Tamil Nadu and Odisha, where such canteens already operate. In Tamil Nadu's hugely popular "Amma Canteens," a plate of idly with sambar is sold for just Re.1, while pongal — staple rice-and-lentil food — costs Rs.5.

"It will be our plan to set up these canteens within one or two months," Khetan added. "In the first phase, we will set up the 'Aam Aadmi Canteen' at hospitals, industrial areas, educational institutions and commercial hubs." The canteens would be run by the Delhi government's department of food and supplies.

Source: Times of India