With the Budget Session all set to commence from tomorrow, parliamentarians and visitors will have to shell out more bucks to satisfy their appetite. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had announced on January 19 scrapping of the subsidy on Parliament’s canteen food. He had also said that India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) will be handling the Parliament canteens instead of Northern Railways. The move is expected to save the exchequer around Rs 8 crore annually.
Since the ITDC is now handling the Parliament canteen and is offering non-subsidized food, the prices of food served is at par with the market standard.
According to a report, the cheapest item on the new menu is chapatti priced at Rs 3 per piece. The costliest item on the menu is the non-vegetarian spread of buffet priced at Rs 700. The price of the vegetarian buffet has been kept at Rs 500.
While the Hyderabadi Biryani, which used to cost Rs 65 earlier, has been removed from the menu, a platter of chicken biryani will now cost Rs 100. Those craving for Mutton Biryani will now have to spend Rs 150 per plate. On the other hand, mutton cutlet and mutton curry are priced at Rs 150 and Rs 125 for two pieces per plate, respectively.
Interestingly, a plate of khichdi with pickle has been priced at Rs 50. Popular South Indian dishes like Dosa is priced at Rs 30 while Idli is priced at Rs 20 to start with.
Parliament is going to meet after a break of around four months. The government has made it mandatory for all the MPs to take the RT-PCR test in wake of COVID-19 pandemic. Parliament will sit in two shifts. The Rajya Sabha will carry out its business in the morning shift from 9 am to 2 pm while the Lok Sabha will sit in evening shift from 4 to 8 pm.