- By PTI
- Sat, 25 Oct 2025 08:26 PM (IST)
- Source:PTI
New Delhi: The first Atal Canteens in the national capital will soon be constructed near the slum clusters at Naraina and Inderpuri in Rajinder Nagar assembly constituency.
The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) on Friday floated a tender to set up the first two canteens.
According to the tender, the canteens will be constructed near Sonia Gandhi Camp in Naraina and the JJR Colony in Inderpuri within 60 days at an estimated cost of Rs 31.99 lakh.
The Atal Canteen initiative aims to provide affordable, hygienic meals to daily wage earners and residents living in the nearby Jhuggi-Jhopri (JJ) clusters.
Each canteen will have a dining hall, kitchen, storeroom, pantry, and separate washing areas for workers and utensils. The canteens will be properly ventilated, well-lit, and maintained in clean and sanitary conditions. Provisions will be made for covered drains, waste disposal and a separate section for women diners to ensure privacy, the tender said.
The canteens will operate on a "no profit, no loss" basis, with affordable food prices for the public. The menu will reflect the regular dietary habits of the local community, particularly the labour population, it added.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had announced the scheme while presenting the Delhi Budget for 2025-26, designating Rs 100 crore for its implementation.
The government plans to establish 100 canteens across the city to coincide with the birth centenary celebrations of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in December. Subsidised canteens named after Vajpayee are already operational in several states.
The launch of Atal Canteens was one of the key social welfare promises in the BJP's manifesto during the 2025 Delhi election.
With the new government in place, the capital is now moving towards ground-level execution of the initiative, officials said.
(Note: Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Daily Jagran staff. Credit: PTI)