Odisha asks corporates to fund Aahaar scheme

As the state government is struggling to arrange resources for its unscheduled announcement of subsidised meal scheme Aahaar, it has sought financial assistance from corporates to implement the scheme.

The housing and urban development department, the nodal department selected to carry on the scheme, has asked Tata Steel, National Aluminium Company (Nalco), Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) and Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) to provide funds as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) for Aahaar.

On March 2, the state government had announced launching of Aahaar scheme, taking a leaf out of Amma Unavagam scheme being run in Tamil Nadu.

Under the scheme rice and dal curry would be provided to urban poor at Rs 5 per meal from April 1, also observed as Odisha Day. However, since the scheme was announced after the Budget, the state government has decided that the funding for the scheme would be arranged from Chief Minister's Relief Fund and from CSR fund of corporates.

"The initiative requires financial support from corporate bodies out of their CSR fund to support one time capital expenditure to meet part of infrastructure cost such as vehicles to carry food, utensils, dish washer, generator, uniform for the staff etc and Rs 2.19 crore per year towards cost of meal," said G Mathivathanan, secretary of the department in letters written to the heads of the corporates.

As per the request made by the government, all five corporates will have to shell out a combined sum of Rs 3. 2 crore (Rs 64 lakh each) towards one-time cost. Annually, they will have to pay Rs 2.19 crore each for the cost of the subsidised meal.

According to the scheme details, Aahaar will be implemented in five municipal corporations-Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Sambalpur and Rourkela. Each corporation will set up four cheap food outlets at bus stand, railway station and hospital areas targeting 1,000 urban poor for one outlet.

The government has selected two NGOs, Touchstone Foundation, a subsidiary of Akshaya Patra Foundation and Manna Trust to operate the scheme. In the letter, Mathivathanan has asked the corporates to send money to these NGOs to run the operations from April.