More than six months after the AAP government announced setting up of Aam Aadmi Canteens in the national capital, a scheme inspired by Tamil Nadu’s highly subsidised Amma canteens, the proposal is yet
More than six months after the AAP government announced setting up of Aam Aadmi Canteens in the national capital, a scheme inspired by Tamil Nadu’s highly subsidised Amma canteens, the proposal is yet to get off the ground.
Ashish Khetan, vice chairman of the Delhi Dialogue Commission (DDC), an advisory body to the government which drafted the proposal, had affirmed on July 16 last year that the first few canteens would become operational in “two months and possibly before Independence Day”, but not a single outlet has come up till date. The scheme, aimed primarily at the working class and students, is to be implemented by the food and civil supplies department of the city government. Calls to Mr Khetan went unanswered and text messages elicited no response.
One of his aides, tasked with handling the media, said the “work is on” and that a formal announcement would be made “as and when” there are concrete developments.
According to the proposal, the canteens will serve “nutritious and delicious” meals in the Rs 5-10 range to those who cannot afford, especially around 10 lakh construction workers, hawkers and families living in JJ clusters, and students of technical institutes. Mr Khetan had announced the management of the canteens was likely to be outsourced to private agencies.
