New Delhi: Members of Parliament may soon have to pay more for food in the Parliament canteen after an unanimous decision was taken by lawmakers to let go of the subsidy that they avail of there, ThePrint has learnt.
A Lok Sabha functionary said the decision was taken Thursday after a suggestion from Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Food in the Parliament canteen will be sold at their ‘actual’ prices from the next session.
“This is an in-principle approval and a strategy will be drawn up for implementation,” said the Lok Sabha functionary.
“In the Business Advisory Committee of Lok Sabha, members of all parties agreed to do away with the canteen/food subsidies. The actual cost of food items amount to Rs 17 crore in a year,” the functionary added.
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Chicken biryani for Rs 65
In 2015, then Lok Sabha member and now a BJP leader, Baijayant Jay Panda, had said that subsidy on food items should be for the benefit of the poor. The following year, rates of some food items were increased by around 50-70 per cent after parliamentarians were criticised again for availing of the subsidy.
At present, a meal of chicken biryani costs Rs 65 while a chicken curry is priced at Rs 50.
It is not only the parliamentarians who flock to the canteen but also visitors and journalists. According to a rough estimate, whenever the House is in session, the canteen serves around 4,500 people on an average every day. However, it is not open to the public unless they have a valid pass issued by Parliament.
(Edited by Myithili Hazarika)
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Have u enquired about Jaypanda whose loan of 2300 crs were written off? There are honest parliamentarians who need to get subsidized food.Let the money from Jaypanda be recovered
A welcome decision, which allows honourable Members to have a better appreciation of how the cost of living is changing for ordinary Indians.