250 Indira Canteens to be opened in Bengaluru: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 12 : Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said that officials have been instructed to start at least 250 Indira Canteens, one for each ward of Bengaluru.

The Chief Minister spoke to the media at Home Office Krishna today.

According to the Chief Minister, discussions were held regarding the resumption of Indira Canteens. Earlier, 70 per cent of the cost of the Indira Canteen was paid by BBMP and 30 per cent by the government. But now, it has been decided that BBMP and government will pay 50 per cent of the costs.

Indira canteens other than Bengaluru, the costs upto 70 per cent will be paid by the government and 30 per cent by the city municipals. Officers were instructed to provide the list of places in the state where new Indira canteens could be started, CM Siddaramaiah informed.

Indira Canteen's menu will be changed and instructions will be given to officers to maintain good quality and cleanliness of the canteens. However, the rates will not be revised.

The Chief Minister informed that the Indira canteen scheme will be relaunched after the completion of a tender process.

"The tender process is being decentralised and zone-wise tenders are being called," he said.

Indira Canteens were started by the Siddaramaiah government in Karnataka in 2017 with the aim to provide meals to the economically disadvantaged sections of society at a subsidised price.