AMMA CANTEENS-ANOTHER SOCIO ECONOMIC INITIATIVE IN TAMILNADU

Populist schemes like distributing food grains for a rupee per kg are considered the benchmark for the credentials of governments at the Center as well in the states for their "love" and "commitment" to the common man who is synonymous with poverty and destitution in this "Maha" country! Look at the tearing hurry with which the present government in Delhi (GoI) is trying to push through a half baked, ill conceives and an unworkable food security bill in the Parliament solely for garnering votes from the people who are supposed to be the beneficiaries of this monstrous scheme without proper discussion among the law makers regarding the logistics, infrastructure and financial resources needed! This is all the more reprehensible considering that the existing dilapidated and leaky Public Distribution System (PDS), despite its existence for more than 5 decades  has not made any dent on the poverty level among the vulnerable segments of the population.

It is a tragedy of Himalayan proportion that the "rulers" in this country always look for scapegoats for all their failures and the story of PDS is also the same. While the Center blames the states for the ills of the program, States in turn point an accusing finger to Center for lack of support from it fr their endeavor. Caught in between are the targeted beneficiaries who are deprived of their legitimate share of food grains shown in the "account" books. According to independent observers the pilferage of grains from the government granaries is as high as 65% in some states and surprisingly the planning commission does not seem to be too much worried about this aspect. Now comes the Rs1-2 per kg food grain distribution program with the planners having hazy idea regarding the implementation of this massive dole out program. This only highlights the fact that all government schemes look good on paper but suffer from bad implementation because of the lax attitude of the bureaucracy that runs these programs. Imagine how hurting it would be for the economy of this country when almost Rs 1.26 lakh crore is spent on this grandiose scheme which is unlikely to succeed in its objectives and instead end up as a "rewarding" scheme for thousands of politicians, bureaucrats and criminals!

The recent launching of another populist scheme in Tamil Nadu at Chennai that is supposed to help low income group of people get cheap food preparations in low cost vending kiosks is indeed timely. In theory it is a good scheme because the run away prices of restaurant foods are excluding a substantial segment of the population in the city from the "eating out" pleasure and the most vulnerable people like workers, students and many service providers are hard hit by the hyper inflation of hotel food prices. While government does not want or is not able to rein in the high profit hotel industry, the new scheme seems to be a soft option. While concept wise it may be a good attempt how far logistically it is practical remains to be seen.

According to the media reports Chennai Civic Corporation is setting up a series of low cost canteens across this City to be christened Amma Canteens and residents of all the wards will have access to these low cost eateries offering some of the popular dishes at prices which are ridiculously low making one wonder who is subsidizing these foods. These eateries are expected to sell idlis ar Re 1 per piece while other preparations like sambar rice, curd rice etc priced at Rs-3-5 per serving. It appears the Corporation has completed the process of identifying 127 buildings in various wards, where these canteens will be located to supplement 73 such eateries already commissioned earlier. Eventually there would be 200 such Amma Canteens, one for each ward. The Corporation's ambitious project is claimed to be targeted at providing healthy food at reasonable prices to residents living in slums, daily laborers, drivers, load-men and migrant workers which is indeed laudable.

If the project officials are to be believed about 2,400 women belonging to self-help groups (SHG) in the city would take up the responsibility of cooking, serving and managing the canteens and these women are being trained for this task. The Corporation claims that since its beginning in February this year the Amma Canteens already operating in various wards have served more than 20 lakh idlis, 5 lakh sambar rice dishes and more than 3 lakh curd rice dishes.Though no evaluation of the relevance, need and response of the customers has yet been done, from the volume of business achieved it appears to be popular. Quality and safety are the main criteria that will decide whether this venture can thrive and serve the purpose for which it is set up.

Some of the critical issue that will confront the organizers include the sustainability of the scheme, its continued funding, availability of right personnel for management, maintaining quality and ensuring safety of the preparations served in these places. Since it has Corporation blessings, there would be nagging suspicion that food safety standards may not be strictly enforced and such a situation can be dangerous for the customers in the long run.Government must ensure that safety of food served is not compromised under any circumstances. Another issue which will crop up is whether one canteen per ward would be adequate to meet the need of the residents there and if the food quality is on par with that sold in private restaurants these canteens may become over crowded inviting severe management problem. Restricting the access to customers other than low income group may not be practical and the state government may be left with no option but expand this operation manifold and spread the scheme in other major towns in the state.

A similar venture in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala being managed by the Prison authorities is reported to be doing extremely well though its modus operadi is slightly different. Another difference is that the Kerala venture does not sell the products made by prison inmates at such low prices and it is self supporting project. Besides the range of foods sold by them is much more diverse compared to Chennai project and their sale model is based on mobile vans which distribute the fresh preparation in different parts of that city. But the fact still remains that such type of projects are indeed welcome to give relief to the much harassed public who are continuously being milked by the organized hotel industry remorselessly!  

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

A PRISON CUM HOTEL- FICTION OR REALITY?

A prison by whatever name one calls it, invariably evokes scare and dread among laymen because of its association with criminals and under trials. Probably brutality stories emanating from some of the major prisons in the county have further brought down the image of prisons among citizens. In spite of many developments that attempted to modernize the prison system in India and many other countries, this stark image of prisons is unlikely to fade away so easily. It is not that convicted prisoners with brutal crimes behind them should be housed in air-conditioned cells with all modern facilities including high class foods but still their basic essential needs ought to be met to lead a normal healthy life within the precincts of the prison. It is against this context that recent reports from Kerala high lighting the development of some prisons into good quality catering units must be appreciated.

China is the country which perfected the "art" or better call it the "practice" to use forcefully prisoner population for productive work, turning out cheap consumer products benefiting the society at large. Of course the human right activists frown upon such practices but honestly there should be no bar for utilizing the manpower in the prisons for useful purpose, the only rider being that there should not be any physical torture for forcing them to do work. There are many countries where reformist seal is perceptible when prisoners are motivated to better their education and skill though appropriate facilities and conducive environment. In some countries many convicted prisoners for mild law violations are given social work as punishment with minimum restriction on their movements. Probably open prison system that is being propounded for long may not be realistic in the near future though working for that goal is admirable.

Every country is faced with the dilemma as to what to do with its prisoners who form substantial numbers in countries like India, China, Indonesia, Brazil etc because they form a population whose productivity potential is locked up and they are not provided with another opportunity to prove that they have really been transformed. If capital punishment is banished all over the world as being propounded by the United Nations, the alternative option of life imprisonment punishment will contribute to increased prison population in the coming years. A global consensus on prison reforms can unleash a force that can be harnessed for the welfare of the very society against whom the culprits have committed the crime. Probably innovative ideas like prison schools and universities, captive training units and such knowledge upgrading schemes can go a long way in reforming most criminals.

One of the objections to engage the prison population for manufacturing and other activities involved in value addition services is that they are paid very little compared to regular industrial labor. Probably this can be tackled by evolving a wage computing system that will be equitable in nature. The cost of facilities for housing and managing the prisoners can be deducted from the standard wage due to them and rest can be credited to the account of the prisoner for eventual withdrawal at the time of discharge. This will hopefully give the prisoner enough motivation to behave in an exemplary manner earning money as well as commutation of the sentence for good behavior. Of course the issue is not as simple as one thinks and lot of scientific, psychological, managerial, social and logistical inputs are necessary for evolving a workable and equitable prisoner rehabilitation program.    

Taking the example of the Central Prison, Poojappura, in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, it is remarkable that this dreaded prison has improved its image significantly during the last few months through its reformist agenda and is no more a place which the public do not like to enter. This is thanks to the food items being prepared and offered to the public utilizing modern facilities in its kitchen. It may be recalled that late last year this "Prison" started selling chapathi from its kitchen and public seems to have been bowled over by this offering with the items sold off in no time! Now comes the news that the Prison has added to its portfolio of products items like Idli, vegetable curry, chicken curry which too have become "hot" items gobbled up by the public! Probably the initial incentive must be the relatively low prices at which their items are sold compared to public restaurants in the town. During the last two years food preparations in hotels and restaurants have seen a price escalation of 100-150% with no rhyme or reason and Kerala is always considered as a price sensitive state with the consumers fiercely resisting such artificial inflationary tendencies.

Imagine a Prison selling 50000 chapathi packets, 8000 Idlis, 4000 chicken curries and 2500 vegetable curries a day! during the last one year the prison department is reported to have contributed about Rs 35 million to the Exchequer through its food selling program! Interestingly the products are not promoted commercially unlike other public restaurants and selling is done through two outlets, one in front of the Central Prison and the other in front of Women's Prison nearby, besides four mobile outlets. talking about mobile outlets, one is reminded of the Food Truck movement in the US which has become a craze in that country in no time and credit must go Kerala for experimenting (or introducing first time in the country) with mobile catering units almost similar to Food Trucks in the US. It will be interesting to study how the prison department is managing this" extra curricular" activity in spite of its heavy burden in administering the regular responsibilities of managing the prison system as a whole. May be a fit subject for the business schools in the country to take up this "phenomenon" for management case studies. How about other prisons in within the state and outside to follow the lead given by the Central Prison in Thiruvananthapuram? Why not?

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com