House canteen likely to serve food packets

NEW DELHI: Parliament’s muchpublicised canteen may not dish out its cheap but famous dishes this monsoon session amid strict restrictions meant to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, only food packets are likely to be served this session — which runs from September 14 to October 1 — officials involved in the preparations said.

That means the thaalis or wide-ranging a la carte dishes are likely to be off the menu.

“It has almost been decided not to cook food in the Parliament complex and serve food packets in a bid to reduce entry of people and crowding in Parliament,” said an official who asked not to be named.

To be sure, for the past five months, the canteen has only been serving tea and biscuits, and its lunch service has been stopped.

From boiled vegetables to Kesari bhat, the Northern Railway-run canteen normally dishes out a sumptuous menu of 48 items at subsidised prices. According to canteen officials, the vegetarian thali (₹40) and chapatti (₹2) are the most sought-after items.

During a normal session, an average 4,500 people eat at Parliament every day.

According to the data available with officials, out of ₹17 crore subsidy for three years, only ₹24 lakh was spent on account of MPs.

The rest was accounted for by visitors, security personnel and officials.

In 2015, then Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan approved a proposal to abolish subsidies on Parliament food, and to run the canteens on a no-profit-no-loss basis.

The decision came after years of public criticism that Parliament serves a plate of chicken curry for ₹29 or dal for just ₹2.

Now, under the new prices, chicken curry costs ₹50, masala dosa ₹20, and fruit salad ₹10.

But this session, with lower footfall in Parliament due to various Covid restrictions, visitors will not be allowed to enter the complex, and staff strength will be reduced.

“All these measures would also mean, the pressure on canteens would be reduced,” said an official cited above.

There are also plans in the works to replace Northern Railway with government’s catering arm ITDC to run the canteen.