Delhi government plans highly subsidised 'Aam Aadmi canteens'; to serve food at Rs 5-10

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government will soon set up ‘ Aam Aadmi Canteens’ in the national capital to provide "safe, nutritious and delicious" meals priced at between Rs 5 and Rs 10 to the city’s underclass. Replicating the concept of Tamil Nadu government’s ‘Amma Canteens’, named after CM J Jayalalithaa, the Aam Aadmi Party government will set up staterun canteens near hospitals, industrial areas, commercial hubs and educational institutions.

"The idea...is to ease out the life of those who feel the pinch of affording the cost of a nutritious and hygienic meal. Rickshawpullers, 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 unsanitary conditions. The decision to roll out the Aam Aadmi Canteen has been taken keeping in mind the high cost of nutritious and hygienic meals in Delhi," an official statement said.

The statement also emphasised that the target group was Delhi’s roughly 10 lakh construction workers, 5 lakh street hawkers and 4.2 lakh families living in slums.

Addressing reporters on Thursday evening, Delhi Dialogue Commission (DDC) Vice-Chairman Ashish Khetan said the first such canteen will come up in two months. "The Aam Aadmi Canteen will replace the Jan Aahar scheme launched by the previous government in Delhi due to many complaints received against it. The Tamil Nadu model was studied by DDC," he said. Khetan also said there will be "phase-wise" rollout of the canteens though the final number has not been decided yet.

Conscious about questions concerning food quality, given the minimal pricing, the government statement said, "Special emphasis will be laid on preparing food under extremely hygienic conditions and serving meals that are both good in quality and sufficient in quantity. Elaborate standards for the same shall be laid down. All canteens shall be fitted with RO (water purifier) systems for the purpose of drinking water. Eventually, all canteens will serve three meals — breakfast, lunch and dinner." No details were provided about the menu on offer in the canteens.

The announcement, made keeping in mind the party’s core support base, was criticised by the opposition Congress, which slammed AAP for resorting to a ‘BJP-like’ approach of allegedly "renaming existing schemes and claiming credit". Citing her own Jan Aahar scheme, former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit told ET, "They have done nothing new. I had launched the Jan Aahar scheme during my second term and it got a good response from Delhi’s working people. This government has renamed that scheme and, like BJP at the Centre, is claiming credit for it." The Congress government served curry (dal), rice, curd, vegetable, puri and sabji at its canteens.