Patiala, Jan. 9 -- The Punjab Health Department has fixed a daily food allocation of Rs.150 per inmate for three meals at Drug De-addiction and Rehabilitation Centres (DDRCs) across the state -- apparently to standardise the diet money. As of now various centres allocate different amounts for diet for inmates. Interestingly, the newly fixed allocation is significantly lower than what is currently being spent at several government-run DDRCs. Mohali Centre is providing a daily diet costing Rs.280 per inmate, while a government DDRC in Patiala is offering a diet nearly worth Rs.200 per day. "To ensure all the individuals undergoing treatment in DDRCs in the state receive nutritional and timely meals. A cost of approximately Rs.150 per person per day has been decided for the same," reads an official letter issued by the deputy director of the Mental Health Programme on January 6. The Government Drug De-Addiction and Rehabilitation Employees Union has demanded an immediate revision of the allocation for the sheer reason that it is too little. "During recovery, drug addicts need a healthy and nutritious diet. The government should seriously consider increasing the daily food allocation for inmates," said Parminder Singh, state president of the union. "At present, a majority of DDRCs are already spending more than Rs.150 per inmate per day," he added. Punjab health department deputy director Dr Rohini Goyal, who issued the orders, refused to comment on the matter. Meanwhile, state programme officer Dr Sandeep Bhola said the decision was taken to standardise both the menu and the cost across all DDRCs in Punjab. "We have decided to fix the daily allocation at Rs.150 because there was a lot of disparity in different DDRCs. We will be soon issuing a new standardised diet chart, and it won't include chicken as a lot of inmates have objected to it. We are already giving multivitamins tablets to the drug addicts," said Dr Sandeep Bhola When asked about whether there were any financial constraints to fix the daily allocation of Rs.150, Dr Sandeep Bhola, said that there were no financial constraints. A few months ago, a former Delhi's AAP government minister had inspected a DDRC in Mohali and reportedly directed authorities to improve the diet of inmates by including chia seeds and chicken. "We were told to include almonds, chia seeds and even chicken in the diet plan," said an employee of the DDRC in Mohali, requesting anonymity....