The scheme was launched on December 25 last year.
Launched by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation with much fanfare on December 25 last year, the Atal Jan Aahar Yojana was meant to provide meals to the poor for Rs 10. But the scheme, which was also part of the BJP’s manifesto ahead of last year’s MCD polls, has hit a roadblock, with some locations closed for a week and others for over a month.
The issue was flagged by leader of the House Kamaljeet Sehrawat, who informed South Corporation officials about the issue during Friday’s proceedings. “I have been getting complaints from people and I request officials to address it,” Sehrawat said.
To mark the birthday of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the South civic body had launched the scheme at four places in the capital — Green Park near AIIMS, Okhla Mandi near Matiala Chowk, Ghode Wala Mandir in Raghubir Nagar, and Kakrola More.
The idea was to serve dishes such as puri, chapatti, rice, rajma, vegetables, chhole and halwa at a nominal price. One of these items would be served daily. But at all four places, agencies meant to provide the meals have stopped for different reasons.
Sehrawat said that at Green Park, the private contractor who had taken up the work wanted to provide bulk orders, but did not find enough takers. Moreover, other agencies also serve cheap meals at Green Park.
“So the vendor asked us for a location closer to AIIMS. We are working on providing them a place near the hospital, as that will attract a bigger crowd,” she said. At Raghubir Nagar, local residents were unhappy with food being served there, and asked the vendor to be shifted, which is yet to happen, Sehrawat said.
About the issue in Kakrola, standing committee member Bhupendra Gupta said, “The vendor that was given the contract said he is not being paid enough and stopped providing food. We told him he should have told us earlier, and we would have increased the budget.”
As for Okhla Mandi, standing committee member Raj Pal said, “The company that was given the contract also provides mid-day meal to schools. Due to schools being closed, they have not been providing Jan Aahar either. This issue will be resolved once schools reopens in July.”
At the time of the launch, the corporation had said the scheme was being tested on a pilot basis, and the model would be replicated in all wards of the city. The food was to be served between 11 am and 3 pm.
Leader of the standing committee in the SDMC, Shikha Rai, said she asked the commissioner to get the issue resolved.