As H D Kumaraswamy prepares to present his maiden budget on Thursday, questions loom over the ambitious Indira Canteen project, started by his predecessor Siddaramaiah, which is struggling to function under mounting dues.
A Palike source said dues to the contractors have not been cleared ever since the Congress-JD(S) government took power, adding that those working at the canteens are not paid as a result.
The BBMP has outsourced the canteens to two companies, Rewards and Chef Talk, which run 198 eateries in the city, including the mobile food vending units. The companies also run eateries in other districts.
While Chef Talk runs 110 canteens and 10 kitchens in the city, Rewards looks after 88 canteens and 12 kitchens in the East, South, Mahadevapura, Bommanahalli and Yelahanka zones. Both companies have 800 and 700 workers, respectively.
"We have been struggling to pay our workers, which is the main problem. We have managed to pay them through internal adjustments, but we cannot continue like this for not more than two months," the source said.
The state and the BBMP owe Rs 7 crore to the canteens run by Rewards in the city, while the outstanding sums to eateries in the other districts would come up to nearly the same. A source close to the Indira Canteen project said they have approached the BBMP chairman, tax and finance committee, M Mahadev to solve the issue.
"Yes, there is a problem in paying contractors running the Indira Canteens. They approached me, but I asked them to attend the meeting on Thursday. They have even written to the BBMP chief," said Mahadev.
Another close aide to the contractors said the companies have approached BBMP commissioner N Manjunath Prasad, who assured them of help in solving the issue at the earliest. Prasad, however, refused to comment.
BBMP's special commissioner, in-charge of Indira Canteens, Manoj Rajan refuted claims of the outstanding payments. "All payments until May have been cleared," he asserted. "Contractors have submitted bills for June today, and it would be processed soon."