MPs give up food subsidies at Parliament canteen, save Rs 17 cr annually

The members of Parliament, with consensus, have decided to do away with the food subsidies at the Parliament canteen, on Thursday. After the speaker proposed this, it was revealed that the subsidies wirth at least 17 crores were enjoyed by the parliamentarians annually. In 2015, it was revealed that the Parliament canteen subsidises the food by 80%. 

Subsidised items 

The MPs have enjoyed subsidised food for a very long time. Sources revealed a few items and the prices at which these food products are pegged. Bread and butter in the Parliament canteen costs only Rs 6, whereas chapati is sold for only Rs 2. Non-vegetarian items, which are usually expensive in the commercial outlets are pegged at around Rs 50 to 60. Chicken Curry, chicken cutlet, tandoori chicken and mutton curry costs Rs 50, Rs 41, Rs 60 and Rs 45 respectively. Also, beverages and breakfast items like coffee, dosa and soup cost around Rs 5, Rs 12 and Rs 14 respectively.  

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Uproar over food subsidies in 2015 

The canteen susidies were given up by the parliamentarians on the recommendation of Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla. This came after a BJD MP in 2015 Baijayant 'Jay' Panda wrote a letter to the speaker and requested him to urge all the MPs to do away with their subsidies. He also said that doing this would be "a right step in effecting greater public trust" in lawmakers. 

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Back in 2015, Lok Sabha released a statement saying "After receiving the committee's report, the Speaker has taken a number of decisions, out of which the most important is that the canteen in Parliament will now work on 'no-profit, no-loss' basis...Accordingly, the rates of various food items have been increased and these would be sold at the actual cost of making..” 

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