200 Kudumbashree Janakeeya hotels closed down in Kerala, scheme successful in all other states including UP and Tamil Nadu

KOCHI: 200 Kudumbashree Janakeeya hotels in the state have been closed down due to the rise in commodity prices and government subsidies stalled for months. Kudumbashree Janakeeya hotels offered meals at Rs 20. There are 1184 hotels in the entire state. If the subsidy is delayed further, the rest of them will have to be closed. There are 5,012 women who work in these hotels.

Samriddhi Kitchen in Kochi alone owes Rs 40 lakh. Hike in cooking gas prices also affected the hotels.

30 crore allocated for the current year has been disbursed. Kudumbashree Mission has asked the government for another 30 crores. It is expected to be available in March itself.

60 crores in Kerala

A subsidy of Rs 60 crore per annum has been earmarked for the Janakeeya hotel scheme announced in the 2020-21 budget.

The guideline is to start the hotel by renting the building or through sponsorship. Electricity, water, furniture etc. should be provided by the local government bodies. 10,000 rupees per district panchayat for hotels in villages, 20,000 rupees per block panchayat at block level and 30,000 rupees per city municipality should be provided as revolving fund.

450 crores in Chennai

In Tamil Nadu, Chennai Corporation alone spends Rs 450 crores a year.

Tamil Nadu was the first in India to implement the hunger-free hotel scheme. Idli for Rs 1, Sambar Sadam for Rs 5, Curd Sadam for Rs 3, two chapathis and dal curry for Rs 3 is the rate. Similar projects like Annapurna Rasoi in Rajasthan, Annapurna Akshayapatra Yojana in Chandigarh, Namma Canteen in Karnataka, Aahar in Odisha, Deen Dayal Rasoi Yojana in Madhya Pradesh and Annapurna Bhojana Alaya in UP are successful.

“If the subsidy amount is received correctly, we can proceed without much difficulty. Sponsorship is not practical in rural areas.,” said Sujatha Venugopal, Kochi East CDS, Kudumbashree Convener.