Scent of trouble at Amma canteens -Divya Chandrababu

CHENNAI: They attracted the attention of officials from across the world and now the corporation's vigilance department is turning a hawk eye on Amma canteens. A year after the subsidized canteens were launched, the vigilance department has found discrepancies in their functioning and the complaints range from poor accounting and stock-keeping to vegetables being sold in the open market.

The corporation's vigilance officers conducted surprise checks last week at canteens in Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital and on S N Chetty Street in Royapuram. "We got the most complaints from these canteens. We found that no register was being maintained for attendance or accounts for vegetables and ingredients," said a vigilance officer seeking anonymity.

The flagship programme of the AIADMK government was launched in February 2013, and was rolled out across the state within a few months. Idlis are sold for Rs 1 a piece while various kind of rice preparations are sold for Rs 5. There are 203 Amma canteens in Chennai and about 90 across the state.

The other complaint is of workers selling vegetables meant for the canteen in the open market. The canteens are managed by self-help groups but this too seems to be a problem: There are in complaints of the head of the group appropriating the entire payment. Every canteen hires 12 women who are paid Rs 300 a day.

"Action will be taken against those indulging in malpractice and vigilance officers will conduct regular checks and act on complaints within 24 hours," said a senior corporation official. Each canteen has three CCTV cameras in the stock room, kitchen and service area for the past four months.

The budget canteens, which helped AIADMK sweep the state in the recent Lok Sabha elections, is one of the corporation's main priorities. Administering the 203 canteens in the city's 200 wards has been challenging, say officials.

"One year of running the canteens has cost the corporation around Rs 35 crore. We are looking into the expenses in detail. After that, we will we know how much we spend per day in each canteen," an official said.

In June, chief minister Jayalalithaa announced another canteen in each ward. Security in the canteens will be privatised and the corporation is considering making the workers permanent staff, reducing their working hours and lowering the payment.

The canteen's model of offering nutritious food at subsidised rates is so popular officials from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Egypt visited them. The mayor is set to make a presentation at the Mayor's Summit in New York next year.