Members of Parliament have decided to let go of the subsidy that they avail at the Parliament canteen
Members of Parliament have unanimously decided to let go of the subsidy that they avail at the Parliament canteen.
As per reports, MPs, by consensus, decided to do away with food subsidy at Parliament canteen. The decision was taken after a suggestion from Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, sources have said.
Sources have told India Today that in a meeting of Lok Sabha’s Business Advisory Committee, members of all parties agreed to do away with food subsidy in the canteen. Sources said Rs 17 crores could be saved annually with the decision.
Food in the Parliament canteen will now be sold at actual cost.
| Items | Cost (Rs) |
|---|---|
| Bread and Butter | 6 |
| Chapatti | 2 |
| Chicken Curry | 50 |
| Chicken cutlet (per plate) | 41 |
| Tandoori Chicken | 60 |
| Coffee | 5 |
| Dosa Plain | 12 |
| Fish Curry | 40 |
| Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani | 65 |
| Mutton Curry | 45 |
| Rice (boiled) | 7 |
| Soup | 14 |
In 2015, there was a hue and cry after it came to light that the Parliament canteen was being subsidised to the extent of 80% of its cost.
The then BJD Lok Sabha MP Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda wrote a letter to the speaker and said MPs giving up their subsidised canteen privileges would be “a right step in effecting greater public trust” in lawmakers.
On December 31, 2015, the Lok Sabha issued a statement: “After receiving the committee’s report, the Speaker has taken a number of decisions, out of which the most important is that the canteen in Parliament will now work on ‘no-profit, no-loss’ basis…Accordingly, the rates of various food items have been increased and these would be sold at the actual cost of making..
Prasanta Patnaik