If  in 2013 it was Amma Canteens with which Jayalalithaa built a connect with the Urban Poor , in 2017 it is Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who is taking a leaf out of her success story by announcing “Namma Canteens”. The word “Namma” meaning “Our” has already built the connect that he wants to have with the masses , as polls are just an year away.

In phase one of the project , The 198 Namma canteens will come up in every ward of the Bengaluru city corporation limits and the state government has earmarked a whopping 100 crores to create the infrastructure to these canteens where breakfast will be sold at Rs 5 while lunch and dinner will be served at Rs 10 to the masses.

After announcing it in the Budget Siddaramiah told the media , “ Its for the benefit of the urban poor who will be able to get a healthy meal at affordable prices. The scheme will serve millions and at the same time provide direct employment to around 800 people this year itself.” The opposition however cried foul over the proposed scheme. JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy was quick to react,” The scheme may help the masses , but the intentions of the government are not clear. Its been announced just for the polls next year. We wil have to see if it will be just an announcement or enough funds will be allocated for the project”

With an outlay of Rs 100 crores in this year, the government has marked out Rs 50 lacs towards setting up and operationalizing the same this year. Bengalurians are already excited as they have already heard about the good quality of food served at reasonable prices in the Amma Canteens in neighbouring Tamilnadu.  Mahadev , an auto driver said “I eat out everyday and am sure that there are thousands like me who can save some money everyday by eating at these canteens. So what if th government benefits once with some votes , the everyday beneficiaries will be poor like us”

Anand Kumar , a Councillor of Hebbal ward will be one of the first wards to get the initial set of Namma Canteens is excited about the project. His ward has a huge population of poor and migrant North Indian labour. Speaking to Policy Pulse he said,” We have identified the place and will ensure that the canteen comes up at the earliest. It’s a great opportunity to serve subsidized food to the people. Our ward committee will extend every possible support to the BBMP to make it a success”

While the scheme on face of it looks very attractive the challenges for the authority, BBMP which has been entrusted with the task of setting up and running them is very high. The Chennai example of setting up Amma Canteens has shown that there have been several hurdles that Chennai Corporation has faced in operating these canteens. The biggest concerns that have emerged in the operations have been pilferage of grains and poor food standards in some canteens, hygiene and corruption are some other issues that have decided the success of some of the canteens that were set up. The anomalies were highlighted  in the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report in 2014-15 apart from allegations of improper system of maintaining accounts. The CAG report had also questioned the propriety of even middle class population being served subsidized food instead of the scheme targeting only the poor.

Despite the criticism , the success of Amma Canteens is visible that even after  four years , they are an essential part of most chennaites daily life.

While Siddaramaiah and his team , are working towards early implementation of the scheme to connect with the masses , the logistics maybe a huge challenge. In Chennai the city corporation which had 4 Bulk kitchens in place already where the production of fod items started at short notice , Bengaluru Corporation in absence of any ready infrastructure may still take some time to roll out the idlis , vadas and the Lemon Rice which are hot favorites of the City.