Mumbai: Ahead of the Lok Sabha election, the Eknath Shinde government is planning to expand the ‘Shiv Bhojan’ scheme, which offers subsidized meals at Rs 10 to the needy people, in the state. The government will offer 10 lakh Shiv Bhojan thali (meals) every day across the state. At present, two lakh thalis are being offered under the scheme launched by former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. A senior official said that CM Shinde has told the food and civil supply department to prepare a proposal to increase the number of thalis.
According to the officials, there is a huge demand for the Shiv Bhojan thalis in the labour community, industrial areas and among migrant workers. “The current number is not enough to cover every needy person. Therefore, we have planned to increase from two lakh thalis to 10 lakh thalis,” the official said.
The government is currently operating 1,886 Shiv Bhojan Centres across the state. 4.25 crore thalis have been served to the needy and poor people from April 01, 2023 to January 04,2024.
Officials from the food and civil department said that they have prepared the proposal. It will be submitted to the chief minister’s office (CMO) this week. “Post this, the proposal will be tabled before the cabinet for its approval,” the officials said.
In 2020, Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government had introduced ‘Shiv Bhojan’ as its flagship scheme. The meal contains a bowl of rice and dal, a vegetable and two chapatis. The government has fixed Rs 50 in urban areas and Rs 35 in rural areas for each meal. The empanelled eateries, which are implementing this scheme, are paid the balance amount for each meal by the food and civil supply department.
After toppling of the MVA government, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had announced a probe into the alleged malpractices in the scheme.
