Agri board withdraws order on Atal canteens after SEC's letter

A day after the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB) decided to open Atal Kisan Majdoor Canteens at 40 grain markets to provide subsidised food, State Election Commissioner (SEC) Dhanpat Singh today directed HSAMB to “review” the decision, reminding it that the Model Code of Conduct remains in force until March 12.

After the SEC's letter, Chief Administrator, HSAMB, withdrew his letter on opening of subsidised canteens.

The SEC took action after Congress MLA from Nuh, Aftab Ahmed, complained that the decision was a “gross violation of the Model Code of Conduct in force during the ongoing municipal elections”.

Urban local body elections are being held for eight Municipal Corporations, four Municipal Councils and 21 Municipal Committees across Haryana. Additionally, byelections for the mayoral seats of Ambala and Sonepat have been necessitated following the election of the incumbents to the Vidhan Sabha.

On February 20, the Chief Administrator of HSAMB directed field offices to open Atal Kisan Majdoor Canteens at 40 grain markets where a lunch ‘thali’ will be available for Rs 15. The subsidy is to be released by the respective market committees to the self-help groups. A minimum of 200 lunch ‘thalis’ must be made available daily from 11 am to 3 pm during the five-month procurement seasons: March 15 to May 31 and September 15 to November 30.

The subsidy will continue during the off-season as well, covering the actual number of ‘thalis’ consumed for the remaining seven months: June 1 to September 14 and December 1 to March 14.

In a letter to the Chief Administrator of HSAMB, SEC Dhanpat Singh stated that the Model Code of Conduct remains in force throughout the jurisdiction of the municipal bodies undergoing elections and would remain effective until the counting of votes and the declaration of results on March 12.

He added, “Therefore, the opening of additional Atal Kisan Majdoor Canteens may be reviewed/revised and these canteens should not be opened in grain markets falling within the jurisdiction of any of these municipalities before March 12 where elections are to be held.”

“There is no level playing field in these civic poll. The ruling BJP has been using every trick in the book to influence voters. Even some candidates from our party have been forced to withdraw,” said Nuh MLA Aftab Ahmed.