Govt to launch 100 Atal Canteens on Vajpayee’s birth anniversary

The Rekha Gupta Government in Delhi will launch 100 Rs 5-per-meal Atal canteens on the birth anniversary of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Thursday. Delhi Urban Development Minister Ashish Sood announced on Wednesday.

The subsidy meal canteens were promised by the BJP in its Delhi election manifesto. 

The Delhi Government’s target is to serve over 100,000 meals daily under the Atal canteen scheme.

The menu will include dal-chawal (lentils and rice), vegetables, and roti (bread). At each centre, 500 meals will be served in the morning and 500 in the evening.

“One hundred canteens will be started from Thursday. The construction of some canteens was delayed due to GRAP restrictions for two months. But food will be served at all these places,” Sood said in a press conference. A sum of Rs 100 crore was allocated in the Delhi Budget 2025-26 for these canteens.

The Government had earlier set up an inter-departmental committee to approve sites, menu, distribution system, and management of these canteens. The canteens will be subsidised by the Delhi Government.

According to the government’s sources, food samples will be tested by FSSAI and NABL-accredited laboratories, and operators must submit monthly reports on hygiene, staff health, and safety compliance.

 The food distribution centres will have CCTV cameras for real-time monitoring through the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board’s digital platform.

A biometric and token-based system will be implemented to ensure transparency.

 Each kitchen will be equipped with modern appliances, LPG-based cooking systems, industrial RO water facilities, and cold storage, officials said.   More such canteens will be opened in the coming months, officials said. These Atal canteens have been set up in Shahbad Daulatpur JJ Cluster, Sanjay Camp in Badli, Khadda Basti in Samaypur Badli, H-2 Jahangirpuri slum, near Max Hospital in Shalimar Bagh, Indira Basti in Timarpur, Bhimnagar JJ Cluster, Udyog Nagar JJ Cluster, Arjun Camp slum in Mahipalpur, East Sagarpur slum, Vikaspuri Indira Camp and Bhanwar Singh Camp in Vasant Vihar.

Once operational, the government plans to expand the network based on public demand and feedback. Officials also said the scheme will create employment opportunities through self-help groups and local community kitchens managing the outlets.

BJP Organises Deepotsav

New Delhi: The BJP organised ‘deepotsav’ on the eve of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birth anniversary, decking up the state and district unit offices in the national Capital with thousands of diyas on Wednesday.

Vajpayee’s birth anniversary falls on December 25. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, accompanied by ministers Parvesh Sahib Singh and Manjinder Singh Sirsa and other party leaders, lit earthen lamps at the state office on DDU Marg. “Atal ji always had a smile on his face and he was popular not only among party workers but also among other parties,” Sachdeva said.

‘Deepotsav’ was celebrated at the Delhi BJP state headquarters on Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Marg as well as at all 14 district offices on the completion of the birth centenary year of the former prime minister. Buildings were also decorated with electric lights, said a party statement.

Portraits of Vajpayee were displayed and floral tributes were paid in every district, it said.

Sachdeva and other party leaders lit 101 lamps symbolising the 101st birth anniversary of the former PM.