Eleven Indira Canteens in the southern zone of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) have ceased operations since July 17. The contracted food supply organisation, Chef Talk, halted food deliveries due to non-payment of bills amounting to approximately Rs 47 crore over the past year.
The abrupt suspension of the food supply has left many regular patrons of the Indira Canteens in a lurch. These canteens, a vital source of affordable meals for many residents, have not received food supplies since July 17. Chef Talk, the organisation responsible for the food supply, took this drastic step after repeated pleas for payment to the Chief Commissioner of BBMP went unheeded.
The suspension initially began with discontinuing dinner services at these canteens and has now escalated to a complete shutdown. The affected Indira Canteens are located in Basavanagudi, Bairasandra, Padmanabhanagar, Vivipur, Siddapur, Hombegowda Nagar, Jayanagar, Vidyapeeth, Easypur, and Adugodi Ward. In addition to food supply issues, Chef Talk has also failed to pay the water and electricity bills for the canteens, which, according to the lease agreement, is their responsibility. This has further strained the operations of these vital public services.
BBMP officials have expressed concern over the sudden halt in food supply. Special Commissioner of Health Suralkar Vikas Kishore stated that they are looking into alternative arrangements to ensure the continuity of food supply at these canteens. “We will take action after discussing this with the Chief Commissioner and ensure the food supply resumes. We are also exploring options with other contractors who supply food to other Indira canteens,” he said.
The closure of these canteens has also highlighted the plight of the staff working at Indira Canteens in Bidar, who have not been paid their salaries for almost five months. There are seven Indira Canteens in Bidar district, including three in Bidar city and one each in Bhalki, Humanabad, Basavakalyan, and Aurad town. The staff, who have been diligently serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily, are now facing severe financial hardships.
Speaking anonymously, one of the staff members said, “We haven’t received our salaries for the last five months. It’s becoming impossible to manage household expenses, pay rent, school fees, and other basic needs. The last salary we received was for February, also paid on April 2.”
The situation has put the state Congress government under scrutiny. The Indira Canteens were a flagship project of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s administration, aimed at providing affordable and quality food to the urban poor. However, the current crisis highlights the project’s administrative and financial challenges.
The closure of the 11 canteens reported just a month after state chief minister Siddaramaiah announced to increase the number of canteens in Bengaluru to 250 and number of canteens in state to 600 in the current fiscal.
The Indira canteens established by state congress government under leadership of Siddaramaiah in the year 2017 provide economy meals and tiffin to the poor people for just rs 10 per meal and rs 5 per tiffin.
The government opened 175 canteens in Bengaluru city of which 163 were operational now and 11 closed among 163. The government planned earlier to open canteens one each in all 198 wards of city and planned to increase the number to 250. Even last month Siddaramaiah opened a Indira canteen in Devanahalli airport on last month.
But when state governmemt is facing lot of hardships to manage the canteens to due to financial constraints , planned to open new canteens raised eye brows of people.
On October 2023 media reports suggests that the food supplier company officials alleged that officials demanding bribe to pass the monthly bills.
The opposition party leaders accuse the state government of becoming bankrupt due to five guarantee schemes enforced by the Congress government. The five guarantee schemes were announced before the assembly election and were vital in gaining 136 seats in the hustings.
Recently, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s economic advisor, Basavaraja Rayareddy, caused a stir in the state by suggesting that the guarantee schemes have halted all progress.
After launching a lake project in Mangalore village of Yalaburga taluk, Rayareddy attended a farmers’ conference where he mentioned that the guarantee schemes have negatively impacted the state’s development.
“Development work is stalled in every sector of the state due to a lack of funds. I spent Rs 970 crore on the lake filling project and secured a grant for it. However, no one is coming forward to provide the necessary land for the work. Development work is not progressing in any assembly constituency. Many MLAs are asking for development grants, but the CM has said that no grant has been given to anyone,” Rayareddy said.
“Our constituency was the only one that received money. Funding for the guarantee schemes is becoming very difficult. The CM has appointed me as his financial advisor. Being with him daily has only brought money to my constituency. This is only happening in our state. I am privy to the internal financial matters. The people should understand this.”
“Many MLAs are demanding funds for development projects in their constituencies, but the government does not have the money. We have to set aside about Rs 65,000 crore for the guarantee schemes. As a financial advisor, I managed to secure a grant. Guarantee schemes have become a burden on the Government. People want development, but the government has no money. As a financial consultant, I was successful in getting money for the lake development project here,” he added.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has stated that the government does not have financial problems due to the guarantee schemes. “Guarantee projects are not consuming any resources. We will continue with the projects,” he said.
“We have not introduced vote-based guarantee schemes; they have been implemented to improve the lives of people affected by price hikes,” Shivakumar emphasised.
