Bengaluru: The State Cabinet on Wednesday decided to extend the Indira Canteen facility to other parts of the state having a population of one lakh or above from January 1, 2018. The move comes barely three months before the assembly elections.
These canteens will be setup in governments hospitals, bus stands or railway stations where the footfall of the poor and needy is higher.
Accordingly, 171 locations outside Bengaluru have been chosen where 246 Indira Canteens will start functioning from January.
Briefing the media after the cabinet meeting, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs TB Jayachandra said the cabinet has set three deadlines for the urban development department and the local bodies to set up these canteens in the state.
These include a November 17 deadline to identify the locations for the canteens, December 17 for completion of the infrastructure and awarding of contracts to serve meals and January 1 2018 for the launch.
Jayachandra said about Rs 9 crore will be required each month, as running cost, to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Jayachandra said the government has sanctioned Rs 185 crore for the project. “It needs Rs 29 lakh per day to maintain these canteens. The Cabinet has asked the officials to identify densely populated areas such as government hospitals, railway stations and bus stations for Indira canteens,’’ the minister said.
Anila Bhagya Scheme
The cabinet has also decided to give the under privileged two-burner gas stove and two refills of LPG cylinder under chief minister’s Anila Bhagya Scheme apart from the initial LPG connection free of cost.
“While the Centre is expected to cover eight lakh homes of the 28 lakh households with no LPG connection in the state, there will still be 20 lakh households pending to be covered in Karnataka. We intend to cover at least 10 lakh houses under this scheme by March 2018,” said Jayachandra.
The government is expected to spend Rs 4,040 crore for the scheme.
The cabinet has also decided to launch Punara Belaku (re-lighting) scheme for people who surrender their allotted amount of one litre of kerosene per month meant for BPL card holders.
“Under the scheme, we will provide two rechargeable LED lanterns .to these households,” Jayachandra said.
DNB course
The cabinet has also approved the introduction of diplomate in National Board (DNB) course at 10 government district hospitals from this academic year. “There is shortage of specialists at these hospitals. The introduction of DNB course is aimed to fill up vacancies at these hospitals,’’ the minister said.
According to the minister, the DNB course will be introduced at KG General Hospital, Jayanagar General Hospital, and other hospitals at Bagalkote, Ballari, Chitradurga, Dharwad, Kolar, Kalaburagi, Tumakuru, and Vijayapura.
Winter session
The Cabinet has decided to conduct the winter session of State Assembly from November 13 at Belagavi for 10 days.
Ambulance vehicles
The Cabinet gave its consent to purchase well-equipped ambulance vehicles at an estimated cost of Rs 61.78 crore to replace 95 old ambulance vehicles (Advance Life Support) and 276 ambulance vehicles (Basic Life Support).
Honorarium
The members of Watchdog Committee on Fair Price Shops will be given honorarium to meet the expenses during the training. The Cabinet has decided to give Rs 150 for the members at taluk level and Rs 75 for those from rural areas.
Stationary
The Cabinet has approved the proposal to purchase stationary for 40,765 students from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities through Mysore Sales International Limited (MSIL).
It has also decided to distribute shoes, socks and tool kits to the SC/ST students through the MSIL.
The Cabinet has given its consent to upgrade 46 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and purchase 26 mechanical equipment at an estimated cost of Rs 20.27 crore. It has also decided to provide 127 types of electric and electronic equipment for 46 ITIs at an estimated cost of Rs 16.30 crore.
