Delhi government starts identifying land for setting up food truck hubs

New Delhi: The Delhi government has started identifying land for setting up food truck hubs as announced in its Rozgar Budget 2022-23, with teams of DTTDC and land owning agencies conducting surveys across the city, officials said.

A report on the identified locations based on the survey is expected to be submitted to the government this week, said an official of the Delhi Tourism and Transport Development Corporation (DTTDC). The DTTDC, assigned to prepare the food truck policy, is also working on various initiatives of the Delhi government, including redevelopment of five prominent retail markets in the city.

"Various factors, including the availability of land, footfall and the availability of infrastructure, are to be considered in setting up the food truck hubs as per a policy to be framed by the government," the officer said. The food truck markets would create a "vibrant nightlife experience" for the people in the city besides serving as a catalyst to Delhi's night-time economy, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had said earlier.

The Arvind Kejriwal dispensation is the first government in the country to come up with 'Food Truck Policy' on the lines of USA and Europe, to streamline food truck business in the city, he had said.

The Delhi government has estimated that at least 15,000 new job opportunities would be created with the promotion of food truck business in the city. The land owning agencies of the Delhi government, including the Public Works Department, Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation, Delhi Jal Board, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and Delhi Transport Corporation, have been involved in the project.

The hubs would be developed with food trucks offering local and global cuisines from 8 PM to 2 AM. The idea of setting up food trucks is to strengthen night life and its economy besides promoting tourism, officials said. The government is also likely to consider incentivising the Food Truck business and relax certain norms for it, in the policy that is yet to be framed, they said. The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) has already clarified that if the area occupied by a food truck is below 90 square metre, the fire NOC would not be required, they said.