CHENNAI: Income from the 403 Amma Unavagams in Chennai over the last year has been the lowest in the nine years since their inception in 2013. With the expenditure towards the canteens increasing, in line with the rising prices for rice, wheat, vegetable and food preparation, income has fallen to Rs 9.88 crore during the year 2021-2022. In the pre-pandemic period of 2019-2020, it had managed to fetch Rs 23.58 crore.
The reason, according to senior officials of the city corporation, is a decrease in patronage after the pandemic. “A large part of our patrons consisted of migrant workers, many of whom are yet to return,” said an official.
The losses from canteens in the last year amounted to Rs 102 crore, although it was not the first time the civic body incurred a three-digit loss from running the canteens. From the time it was founded in 2013, the canteens have been consistently running at a loss, ranging from Rs 34.94 crore in its first year to Rs 129.04 crore in 2016-17, the highest so far.
Of the 650 canteens across the State, Chennai has over 60% of them. Incidentally, in Madurai, which has 12 Amma canteens, the income in 2019-2020 was Rs 97 lakh and it increased to around Rs 1 crore in the last two years. Tiruchy city corporation has 11 canteens that brought in a revenue of Rs 89 lakh in 2020-2021. Last year, the revenue dropped to Rs 54 lakh, because the corporation went back to serving only breakfast and lunch as opposed to all three meals during the pandemic.
Although a loss-making initiative, the scheme has been kept alive for the larger purpose of feeding those from economically-backward families. “We have to remember that the canteens were of immense help in feeding the people whenever the city faced unprecedented difficulties — especially during the floods in 2015 and the pandemic,” said MS Munusamy, who audited the canteens when he was the Accounts and Audit Standing Committee Chairman from 2011-2016.
“The key aspect to keep in mind, when it comes to ensuring that the canteens continue to benefit the public, is to increase staff salaries and ensure timely payments. The staff of these canteens have risen to the occasion numerous times to help the public in times of need,” he added. Although in the last year, Rs 112.87 crore was allocated for the operation and maintenance of the canteens by the Chennai corporation, the civic body has not spent anything towards capital expenditure including plant, machinery and civil
construction due to lack of funds.
“There are challenges but the State government seems intent on keeping the canteens running and we are doing everything we can to maintain the quality of the food. Even now, we had a meeting with wheat suppliers to make sure the delivery is prompt,” said a corporation official.
(Inputs from Madurai, Tiruchy)