Gujarat Expands Labor Annapurna Scheme with 101 New Centers Across 28 Districts
The Gujarat government has launched 101 new Annapurna centers for construction workers, aiming to provide meals to 45,000 daily.
Ahmedabad, October 16 (Daily Kiran) : The Gujarat government has expanded its subsidized meal program for construction workers by opening 101 new Annapurna centers across 28 districts. This initiative increases the total number of centers in the state to 394, covering all 34 districts. The government aims to provide meals to approximately 45,000 workers daily.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel inaugurated the new centers via an online event on Friday, serving meals to workers at a center near the Chanakya Bridge in Ahmedabad. With this expansion, the daily meal distribution is expected to rise by about 10,000, building on the previous average of over 35,000 meals served daily.
The Labor Annapurna Scheme, initiated by the Gujarat Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board in 2017, aims to deliver nutritious meals to workers contributing to the state’s construction and infrastructure sectors. Under this program, construction workers and their family members can access meals for a nominal fee of just 5 rupees per person.
Prior to this expansion, 293 centers were operational in 20 districts. Since the program’s inception, over 5 crore meals have been served. The meals typically include staples such as roti, sabzi, dal, rice, pickles, green chilies, and jaggery, with sweets like ‘sukhdi’ and ‘sheera’ offered once a week.
To enhance accessibility, the program also provides doorstep delivery of meals at construction sites, available where 50 or more workers wish to benefit from the scheme. So far, approximately 2.7 million meals have been delivered to various construction sites.
This expansion coincides with a series of public welfare programs marking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 25 years of service, emphasizing the spirit of ‘service is devotion.’ The Gujarat Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board operates 23 schemes for workers, covering areas such as healthcare, housing, education, transportation, and social security, with the Labor Annapurna Scheme being one of the key initiatives. The event was attended by Ahmedabad’s Mayor Hitesh Barot, Labor, Skill Development and Employment Secretary Lochan Sehra, and other officials.
