Delhi govt to develop Majnu K Tila and Chandni Chowk as food hubs, says Kejriwal

The food hub programme is part of a larger policy to create more than two million jobs in Delhi in five years since March when the Delhi government tabled its annual Budget for 2022-23.

The Delhi government will develop food hubs in north Delhi’s Majnu Ka Tila and Chandni Chow, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Sunday announced, introducing a major programme aimed at giving Delhi’s culinary culture a new identity and create jobs in the process.

Majnu Ka Tila is famous for its food joints that serve Asian cuisine and readymade garments shops.

Majnu Ka Tila is famous for its food joints that serve Asian cuisine and readymade garments shops that are frequented by Delhi University students and youngster from across Delhi. Besides being on of Capital’s biggest and oldest markets, Chandni Chowk has remained the nerve centre of Delhi’s culinary culture since ages with several shops serving Mughlai delicacies as well as the best in chaat snacks.

“The development of food hubs will spur growth in the two markets, resulting in new employment opportunities. After extensive research and several meetings with market associations, Majnu Ka Tila and Chandni Chowk have been selected to be developed as food hubs. Besides ramping up basic infrastructure such as roads, electricity, water and sanitation, the government will make sure that all guidelines of food safety and hygiene are 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 city’s food,” Kejriwal said in a press conference.

The food hub programme is part of a larger policy to create more than two million jobs in Delhi in five years since March when the Delhi government tabled its annual Budget for 2022-23. This year the theme of the Budget was rozgaar (employment) as many new policies were announced with the underlying theme of jobs creation.

“The country is going through a serious unemployment crisis. There are many unemployed youngsters in Delhi too. Since the formation of the Aam Aadmi Party government, till today, we have provided employment for about 12 to 13 lakh youngsters through our sincere efforts. We are coming up with many new ideas, so that employment opportunities can be created for the people of Delhi,” Kejriwal stated.

“Delhi is considered the food capital of India. All types of food are available in Delhi including South Indian, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali. Delhi also has restaurants serving global cuisine. To tap the potential of this food business, the government will develop food hubs,” Kejriwal said.

He said the state government will organise a design competition to develop these food hubs in the next six weeks. “The country’s most famous architecture firms will be invited to submit designs on how these two markets can be developed. We will organise this design competition within the coming six weeks. We expect to finalise the design of the architecture and award work contracts in the next 12 weeks. Based on the experiences of these two projects, work on identifying and developing other food hubs will begin in the next phase. I am hopeful that this will bring a different recognition for Delhi and generate a lot of jobs,” the chief minister said.

The state tourism department and Delhi Tourism and Transport Development Corporation (DTTDC) will lead the implementation of the scheme.

Brijesh Goyal, chairman of the Chamber of Trade & Industry, an association of different market associations, said the promotion and branding of the food hubs will lead to growth of business and in turn, generate a large number of direct and indirect jobs. “The traders welcome the move and will extend all support to the government in implementing the plan,” said Goyal.