The YCP government has closed down the Anna canteens which previously provided food to the poor at a nominal price for five years. In some places in these five years, the TDP leaders have not only spent money to restart them, but have been running them continuously.
During the election campaign Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu not only promised to restore Anna canteens when he came back to power, but also signed the fourth file when his government was formed. With this, now the renovation works of Anna canteens have started.
The government has been making a 100-day action plan to revive all Anna Canteens in the state. A total of 203 canteens were supposed to be opened across the state during the previous TDP government. But the construction of only 184 canteens has been completed.
The construction of the rest of the canteens came to a halt with the change of government. Not only that, the YCP government also used the constructed canteens for other purposes in many places. With this, the officials will make field visits from today to know the actual condition of the canteens across the state. The government has set a deadline for the authorities to reopen 203 canteens in the state by September 21
Action Plan
* June 15: Commissioners of urban local bodies should inspect the canteens under their jurisdiction and prepare a preliminary report on the up-to-date condition of the building, furniture, IOT (Internet of Things) equipment and other requirements.
* June 19: Commissioners along with Municipal Engineers and Town Planning Department officials should prepare estimates for building works as per old design for renovation of canteens.
* June 30: Commissioners along with local representatives should select sites for new construction of canteens which are still under construction. Ward secretariats running in canteens should be vacated and alternative buildings should be found.
*July 30: Agencies to supply breakfast, lunch and dinner to canteens should be finalized. Institutions should be finalized for software for mobilization of IoT devices, monitoring of canteens, smart billing, donation management.
* August 10: Approvals should be taken from the government for agreements made with agencies for canteen building works, new equipment, software integration and other infrastructure.
* August 15: Tenders should be invited and agreement with the contracting companies for the construction work of the remaining canteen buildings. All facilities including drinking water, electricity and internet should be provided.
*September 21: 203 canteens in the city and municipal bodies should be opened by September 21.