Now, UP's poor can get meals free of cost at Yogi govt's 'Prabhu ki Rasoi'

UP's Yogi Adityanath govt is mulling a scheme along the lines of Tamil Nadu's 'Amma canteens'

The Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh is set to emulate Tamil Nadu's successful 'Amma canteen' model, where highly subsidised food will be provided to the poor, according to reports.

The first such kitchen, called "Prabhu ki Rasoi", will start serving food in Saharanpur from August 9. Initially, it will feed 300 poor people, according to an Economic Times report. 

To begin with, a meal of rice, vegetables, and daal will be served at the kitchen from noon to 2 pm every day, the report added. However, unlike previous reports that had stated that food would be provided at these kitchens at subsidised rates to people from the economically weaker sections of society, the Sharanpur kitchen will provide meals to the poor free of cost. 

Eventually, the meal will also include rotis, once the machines to make the flat bread are installed, the report added. The roti-making machines are already on order. 

According to the financial daily, while SMC Foods Ltd, a local manufacturer of skimmed milk powder, has offered to pay for setting up the kitchen and its cooking gas bill, Saharanpur's Class 1 government officers will contribute Rs 2,100 each to cover the cost of running the kitchen in its first month. 

The development comes on the back of previous reports that had stated that the Adityanath government was mulling an initiative to feed the poor. According to agency reports from May this year, the Adityanath government has been looking at introducing a thaali (a full traditional Indian meal) priced at just Rs 5.  

"The thaali will consist of rice, chapattis, daal, a vegetable dish and papad. All this will be made available at a price of Rs 5," UP minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary had told news agnecy PTI. According to a Hindustan Times report, aside from the cheap thaali, the scheme will also provide breakfast for Rs 3.  

According to a DNA report, a full day's meal under the scheme would cost just Rs 13, comprising Rs 3 for breakfast and Rs 5 each for lunch and dinner. The report added that the scheme, which would be operated on a public-private partnership basis, would be implemented by the state's urban development department. 

Under the scheme, the DNA report said, the breakfast menu will include salted porridge, sprouted gram and tea, two kachauris and tea, two samosas with chutney and tea, two idlis with sambhar and tea, bread with butter and tea, two bread pakoras and tea, and a plate of poha and tea. 

The lunch and dinner menu, according to the report, includes six rotis, seasonal vegetables in gravy, arhar daal, plain rice, and veg biryani. This meal will be accompanied by salad and pickle. 

The total actual cost of a day's meals works out to Rs 51, which will come down to Rs 48 since the rations will be sourced through the public distribution system. According to the report, while a customer will have to pay only Rs 13, the remaining Rs 35 will come from the state government in the form of subsidy.

As reported earlier, in April this year, the Madhya Pradesh government kick-started its 'Deendayal Rasoi Yojana', which provides subsidised meals to the poor at Rs 5 per plate at select outlets.

The scheme was launched simultaneously in Bhopal and Gwalior on April 7.

In Tamil Nadu, the Amma Unavagam (Amma Canteen) is a food subsidisation programme run by the state government. Under the scheme, which is quite popular among the people, municipal corporations of the state run canteens that serve food at low prices.