In a significant policy shift, the Rajasthan government has overhauled its rules for catering and food services at official functions, a move that directly impacts the financial health of the state's tourism corporation.
New Rules for Official Catering
The state's finance department has formally amended its procurement policy, restructuring the regulations for catering, food, and beverage supply at all official meetings, conferences, and government-organised events. The revised policy was officially published in a gazette notification.
The new clause significantly expands the list of authorised agencies permitted to provide these services. While the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) was previously a primary vendor, the list now also includes the Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), the Rajasthan State Hotel Corporation, the Constitution Club of Rajasthan, and any authorised in-house canteens or suppliers located within government office premises.
Financial Implications and Criticism
A key feature of the new framework is the government's move to fix rates for in-house or on-premises suppliers, subject to prescribed cost ceilings. The official notification states that this measure aims to eliminate inflated or unregulated event-catering bills.
However, this decision has been met with strong criticism from within the RTDC. Officials have voiced concerns, stating that it is not feasible for the government to effectively monitor and control these rates. More critically, they fear the policy will deal a severe blow to the corporation's business.
An RTDC official highlighted the corporation's dependency on these services, stating, "The notification will hurt the businesses of RTDC, which requires desperately the catering services to offset the overall losses of the corporation." This move is seen as one that will further weaken the operations of the already struggling RTDC.
Revised Charges for Small Industries Corporation
The amendments also brought changes to the service charges levied by the Rajasthan Small Industries Corporation (RSIC). For procurement-related services, the RSIC will now operate under a firm ceiling of 5%.
This replaces earlier, more ambiguous provisions that either allowed charges of up to 3% or left the rate to be decided by individual administrative departments. The previous system often resulted in inconsistent charges across different projects, and the new rule aims to bring uniformity.
