Brings Big Relief After Months of Shutdown
After months of uncertainty, unpaid bills and shuttered kitchens, the State Government has revived the Shiv Bhojan scheme, offering a lifeline to thousands of Nagpur residents who relied on the ₹10 meal to survive. For the city’s labourers, rickshaw drivers, slum dwellers and migrant workers, the comeback couldn’t have been more timely.
The government has released ₹28 crore to urgently restart the scheme, part of a ₹70-crore budget earmarked for FY 2025-26. District Supply Officers, including those in Nagpur, have been directed to reopen every centre and use the funds within 10 days, or risk losing the allocation.
Launched in January 2020, the Shiv Bhojan thali — two chapatis, vegetable curry, dal and rice — costs beneficiaries ₹10, while the State absorbs the remaining cost of ₹50 in cities and ₹35 in rural areas. Since inception, the scheme has served 18.83 crore meals, averaging nearly 1.76 lakh plates a day during peak periods.
Nagpur began with five centres near Daga Hospital, RST Cancer Hospital and APMC Kalamna, but by mid-2025, the network had grown to over 160 centres. Many were forced to shut earlier this year after eight months of unpaid dues, hitting vulnerable pockets like Mankapur, Nari Road, Pardi, Nandanvan and South Nagpur the hardest.
The revival — coinciding with municipal and local body elections — has triggered political buzz. Critics call it “perfect timing,” while officials insist it is a welfare-driven move.
This time, the government has tightened monitoring through digital logs and the Shiv Bhojan app, ensuring payments and plate counts stay transparent.
For now, the return of the ₹10 thali has brought real relief — and a renewed sense of dignity — to Nagpur’s poorest citizens. Whether it stays a welfare win or proves to be an election-season manoeuvre remains to be seen.
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