Food items in Parliament canteen will no longer be subsidised.
A statement from Lok Sabha secretariat on Thursday said Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has decided that the canteen in Parliament will work on ‘no-profit, no-loss’ basis from January 1, Times of India.
The rates are hiked as subsidised food served in Parliament was often criticised due to inflation in the market. An RTI query revealed that Parliament canteen facility got a total subsidy of Rs 60.7 crore during the last five years.
Lok Sabha member Baijayant Jay Panda had initially suggested the move in a letter to the Speaker in July 2015 calling for an end to the subsidy scheme. Panda said in light of the government urging voluntary surrender of LPG subsidies by those who could afford it, MPs giving up the privilege was “a right step in effecting greater public trust” in lawmakers.
Responding to the news, Panda called it a “great end to 2015”.
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