ITDC may get to run Parliament canteen

NEW DELHI: State-run ITDC may soon replace Northern Railways in running the Parliament canteen. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and tourism minister Prahlad Singh Patel held a meeting with ITDC and parliament officials—described many as the first step for change of guard in the canteen that feeds up to 5,000 people daily during the sessions.

Officials clarified that no final decision has been taken yet but the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) made a detailed presentation on Wednesday to discuss its plans for the Parliament canteen. ITDC, the government’s tourism arm, runs the luxury five-star Ashok Group of hotels.

The Northern Railway has been serving food in the canteen since 1968.

The process to find a new vendor was started last year after concerns about the quality of food were raised. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla was personally looking into the issue. “A decision is likely to be taken in a week or two,” said a senior official.

“We have had an in-depth discussion,” Union minister for tourism Prahlad Patel told Hindustan Times. “ITDC has presented the plan, we will have to wait to see how the tie-up works out.” Officials present at the meeting told Hindustan Times that Birla emphasised the need to ensure the “quality of the food.”

“The Speaker wanted to ensure that the quality of food is maintained,” said an official on the condition of anonymity. “It is the most important factor but at the same time, the canteen will have to be run on a no-profit, no-loss basis.”

ITDC, the above-mentioned official said, was also told that they will have to deal with both, ‘common people and VVIPs’, so a plan that suits all must be finalised.

At present, the canteen serves a total of 48 food items for lunch and evening snacks, from boiled vegetables to kesari bath. But items such as poha, mutton cutlet or bonda are not available regularly. According to canteen officials, the vegetarian thali (~40) and chapatis (~2 each) are the most sought-after food in the Parliament complex.

According to data available with Lok Sabha officials, out of the ~17 crore subsidy, only ~24 lakh was spent on account of the MPs. Visitors, security personnel, government officials, and journalists covering Parliament accounted for the rest. During a session, an average of 4,500 people eat daily at Parliament.