Times of India: Chennai: tuesday, September 8, 2015
While each of the 252 Amma canteens in Chennai has a separate kitchen, corporation officials say centralised kitchens similar to those run by Akshaya Patra in various cities could reduce the manpower and expenditure burden. "We will be able to keep tabs on the purchase of grain, groceries, curd and LPG if there are centralised kitchens. But we will have to spend money on transportation of cooked food to canteens from the centralized kitchen," said a senior corporation official.
The civic body recently opened 45 Amma canteens but has not hired additional staff and has also postponed plans to open another 15 canteens because of the severe shortage of funds.
To run the canteens, the corporation every year spends an average of 90 crore, an expenditure that increases each year, forcing the civic body to cut down on various infrastructure projects. "We are considering seeking financial assistance from private firms to fund Amma canteens under the Corporate Social Responsibility to reduce the subsidy burden," the official added.
Sources say there has been a drop in the sales of food items though the number of canteens has gone up. However, the health department is reluctant to divulge daily sales figures in response to an application filed by TOI under the Right to Information Act (RTI).
Many consumers complain that the quality of food served in the canteens has gone down. "Quality of food served in the canteens is poor compared to the earlier standards. The chapathis are particularly bad," said K Venugopal, a regular at the canteen in Teynampet.
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