The Arvind Kejriwal Government has identified Chandni Chowk, one of the oldest markets which is also known for various popular food joints in Central Delhi and Majnu Ka Tila in north Delhi known for Chinese foods and shopping centres to be developed as food hubs.
Addressing a digital Press conference, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday announced this saying this will be done in the first phase of a major development programme for food hubs. Kejriwal said the idea behind the development of food hubs is to promote food businesses and create jobs. The plan was a part of the Delhi Government’s annual budget 2022-23 which aimed at creating 2 million jobs in five years through various interventions like creation of food hubs, redevelopment of markets, shopping festivals, etc. Kejriwal said Delhi is known as the food capital, but with the development of these food hubs, the city will actually live up to its name.“Delhi has various food hubs known for serving different cuisines.
Some of the hubs serve all varieties of food. So, in the first phase, we will develop Majnu Ka Tila, a favourite of the Delhi University students and known as Capital’s Little Tibet, which offers a range of pan-Asian cuisine.
On the other hand, Chandni Chowk’s food market is famous for all over the world and its culinary origins here trace back to the kitchens of Mughal emperors,” he said. The Chief Minister said that after extensive research and several meetings with market associations, Majnu Ka Tila and Chandni Chowk have been selected to be developed as food hubs. “We will make arrangements for roads, electricity, water and sanitation inside the food hubs; all guidelines of food safety and hygiene will be strictly followed.
Delhi's Food Hubs will be promoted with unique branding all over the country and the world, so that people coming to Delhi from across the globe can experience our food hubs."
The Chief Minister said the government will focus on creating physical infrastructure, food safety and branding of the identified food hubs. “Delhi is considered the food capital of India. People are fond of eating and hosting people over food. All kinds of food from all over the world are available in the capital. Some places are known for Punjabi foods, some for south Indian food…. We have planned to take forward this concept (food capital),” said Kejriwal, adding that the government will initiate branding of the food hubs which are likely to create a large number of jobs.
“Within the next six weeks, we will conduct a design competition, in which designs will be sought from the country's top architecture firms to develop both the markets.
In the next 12 weeks, the architectural design will be finalised and the contracts will be granted to start the work of developing both the food hubs,” he added. Kejriwal further added that based on the experiences received from both the food hubs, all the food hubs in Delhi will be identified and developed in the next phase.