45 more Amma canteens by mid-December

The city corporation already maintains 252 canteens and the new additions will help the local body push towards its target of 400 canteens by 2016, which is an average of two ca-nteens per ward in the city.

“We have forwarded the papers to the government. We will be in a position to open these canteens by mid-December but it depends on when we receive consent,” said a senior official.

Though the corporation has plans to expand the eateries to 400, space is a big constraint. “There is literally very little space available for us to reach the target,” pointed out another official.

Part of the reason contributing to the issue is that land ownership has not been transferred to the local body, four years after the city expanded to incorporate areas from Tiruvallur and Kanchipuram dist

ricts. “To start a canteen in the wards which till today falls under the revenue divisions of these two districts, land ought to be transferred. There has been no directive from the State in this regard which makes the task exceptionally difficult as the district Collectors are coy about transferring their land to us,” said an official. “Even otherwise, land transfer is a big process and involves lot of paperwork and time to get through in our bureaucratic set up,” the official added.

The low-cost canteen is the brainchild of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and is aimed at supplying quality food at dirt cheap rates. One idli costs one rupee while lunch is served for Rs 3 and Rs 5 and the dinner is served for Rs 3. The canteens have been a hit among the economically weaker sections, who form the majority of consumers.