By: Ashwin Aghor
Mumbai: The indecisiveness of the Maharashtra government might not just shrink the Rs 10 Thali served by the Shiv Sena under its Shiv Bhojan Scheme, but also who gets to savor it. The indecisiveness of the Shiv Sena led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government is reflected in every action it has taken so far. Be it the cabinet expansion, portfolio allotment or even implementation of the poll promises. Lack of administrative experience of the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is visible in every step he has taken ever since he took oath on November 28 last year. The latest casualty of it is its Assembly election promise, the Shiv Bhojan Scheme.
This indecisiveness has continued with the implementation of its ambitious poll promise to provide a decent meal at Rs 10. The government has issued a GR in this regard which starkly highlights the casual approach of the government when it comes to fulfilling its own promises. The Government Resolution (GR) issued by Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection (FCS&CP) department on January 1, exhibits the confusion in the administration over the implementation as it says only 1,800 people in the state will get meal at Rs 10 per day.
This means only 50 people per district would get the meal at the quoted rate. Though it is, at present, a pilot project for next three months, the skeletal structure of the scheme has many loopholes. “What is striking is that, the government will provide subsidized meal to only around 300 people in the most backward, poor districts with highest rate of farmer suicides, whereas, in more urbanized districts like Mumbai and Thane, around 2,000 people will get benefit of the scheme. The scheme should have been implemented, even though as a pilot, in the most backward and needy districts,” said Anay Joglekar, political and social analyst.
There is ambiguity over the total beneficiaries of the scheme in the districts where it would be implemented as a pilot project. Interestingly, the GR has the breakup of the cost of every component of the Thali, which is for miniscule quantity. Each plate to be sold under the scheme will contain two chapatis, 100 gram vegetable, 100 gram daal, and 150 gram rice. This, according to the health experts is not sufficient for an adult to sustain. “This composition of the plate is utterly useless in terms of nutrition value.
How much calories, fats, minerals and carbohydrates would one get from this plate? A lot will depend on quality of vegetables used and the size of chapatis served,” said Dr Nilesh Waghmare, a health expert from Pune.
Comparison of the scheme with Amma Unavagam (Mothers Canteen or simply Amma Canteen), was launched by the AIADMK government of Chief Minister late J Jayalalitha in Tamil Nadu in 2013. The scheme of subsidized low cost South Indian vegetarian cuisine was successful as the cost of raw material was much less compared to Maharashtra. It was later replicated by the previous Congress-JD-S government which had launched it in August 2017 in Karnataka.
“The staple diet in South India and that in Maharashtra are poles apart. One can get all the necessary nutrition from rice and other vegetables used in South Indian foods. But it is not the case with Maharashtra. Here one has to be very careful about choosing right foods to get right nutrition,” Dr Waghmare says.
Dr Manisha Kayande, spokesperson of Shiv Sena said, “It is a pilot project which is being implemented in areas where the raw material is easily available. This will help in assessing the performance and the lacunae which can be overcome as the scheme progresses. The quality of the food served would be ensured. The scheme is for poor people who cannot afford to carry their food. Instead of having unhealthy cheap food they can have sumptuous healthy food at an affordable cost. Something is better than nothing.”
