The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has invited tenders to privatize the Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme in Chennai schools, following directives from the Tamil Nadu government.The scheme, operational in 358 schools across the city, benefits 65,030 students from Classes 1 to 5. Introduced during the 2022-2023 financial year, the initiative originally aimed to serve breakfast to over 1.14 lakh students in 1,545 government primary schools across municipal corporations, municipalities, rural areas, and hilly regions.
Since August 2023, breakfast has been provided under the scheme in Chennai’s government, Corporation, and Adi Dravidar schools. However, the recent government order directed the GCC to outsource the operation to a private agency, ensuring breakfast is prepared with high quality and supplied to schools. Projects exceeding ₹10 crore require administrative approval from the State, leading the GCC to float a tender for outsourcing the scheme for one year.
Opposition to Privatization
The move has faced backlash from several ward councillors and political leaders. Critics argue that privatizing the scheme compromises accountability and quality.
K. Karthik, AIADMK Councillor of Ward 7, accused the government of awarding contracts for political gain, stating, “The State is privatizing the scheme for revenue purposes. If Amma Unavagams can be managed successfully, the same effort can be applied to this scheme.”
PMK President Anbumani Ramadoss also condemned the decision, emphasizing the challenges of centralised kitchens. He said, “Transporting food from centralised kitchens will delay distribution, and the food will not be served hot. If the GCC wants to improve the scheme, it should prepare the food within schools as kitchens are already established.”
The move has sparked a debate on whether privatization is the right step for the government-sponsored scheme aimed at enhancing student welfare.