Maharashtra Imposes Stricter Rules and Longer CCTV Storage on Shiv Bhojan Centres
The Maharashtra Food and Civil Supplies Department introduced stricter regulations for the state's subsidised Shiv Bhojan Yojna on October 1 to curb malpractices, including overcharging and the inflation of beneficiary numbers to claim bogus subsidies. Under the new measures, meal centre operators across the state must obtain mandatory Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) registration and licensing, and preserve CCTV footage of their operations for three months, an increase from the previous requirement of one month.
The government also empowered senior officials to conduct surprise inspections at meal centres after detecting irregularities. A government official stated that authorities uncovered a nexus between district-level officials and centre operators in executing malpractices. Complaints received by the government revealed that several centres were recording Aadhaar numbers and biometric details of individuals who did not actually receive meals, prompting the requirement for longer CCTV retention to ensure transparency.
The Shiv Bhojan scheme was launched in January 2020 to provide a subsidised thali comprising two chapatis, one bowl of vegetable curry, one bowl of dal, and one serving of rice for ₹10. The state government provides operators a subsidy of ₹25 per meal in rural areas and ₹40 per meal in urban areas, incurring an expenditure of approximately ₹18.5 crore per month, or ₹227 crore annually. Currently, 1,867 Shiv Bhojan centres are operational in Maharashtra against a sanctioned strength of 2,256, serving around 163,000 meals daily compared to a target of 200,000.
The tighter scrutiny arrives amid protests from operators, who claim rising expenses and delayed subsidy payments have made running the centres financially unviable. Kayyum Shaikh, a member of the Maharashtra Shiv Bhojan Chalak Kriti Samiti, stated that the costs of cooking oil, pulses, and cooking gas have doubled over the past six years, while rents have increased significantly without an adjustment in government subsidies. Shaikh claimed that between 10 and 40 centres shut down every month, with more than 300 having closed in recent times, including 50 in the recent past.
Operators have also cited delays in receiving state payments. Two weeks ago, the state government cleared pending dues of ₹72 crore covering the months of March to May. Payments for the remaining months are not scheduled for release until January, following the approval of supplementary demands during the winter session of the state legislature.
Kiran Meshram, an operator from Vidarbha, alleged that the increased scrutiny resembled efforts to prune beneficiary lists, noting that operators must cover expenses out of pocket because grants are released after several months while raw material costs continue to climb.
