Will increase number of ''Shiv Bhojan'' thalis to 1 lakh:Bhujbal

The Maharashtra government will ramp up the number of the subsidised lunch plates served daily to the poor under its 'Shiv Bhojan' scheme to one lakh, the Legislative Assembly was told on Monday. Currently, 150 such thalis are served per day at the every district headquarter in the state.

Speaking in the Lower House, Food and Civil Supplies Minister and NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal said that more such lunch plates need to be served per day considering population in cities. "My department aims to provide one lakh thalis every day across Maharashtra under the 'Shiv Bhojan' scheme. At present, 150 thalis are being provided at every district headquarter per day. The scheme needs to be expanded considering population in cities," he said while replying to the debate on supplementary demands.

Bhujbal said the Food and Civil Supplies department has sought allocation of Rs 150 crore for the scheme in the upcoming Budget, which will be tabled on March 6. He said the scheme will soon be started at the taluka level, and gradually the daily servings of the lunch plates will be increased to 200.

The minister further said the government was exploring whether quota of Kerosene for the people using LPG connections can be restricted to the minimum quantity. Kerosene is generally used for cooking on stoves by Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.

The 'Shiv Bhojan' scheme was launched by the Shiv Sena-led state government on January 26. Under the sceme, a meal is provided to the poor for just Rs 10.

The 'thali' consists of two chapatis, one vegetable, rice and dal..