Difficult to find suitable land parcels to build 52 new Indira Canteens in Bengaluru, says BBMP official

BBMP struggles to find land for 52 new Indira Canteens in Bengaluru, facing challenges in location and expansion.

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is finding it difficult to identify and secure lands for the construction of 52 new Indira Canteens, as part of its initiative to expand affordable food services in the city. 

The State cabinet recently granted approval to build 52 new canteens in the city to ensure each ward has a canteen. The number of wards has increased from 198 to 224. Currently, the city has 170 functional Indira Canteens, down from 192. With tenders being issued to build 52 new canteens, the civic body is looking to revive the defunct canteens as well. The closure of these canteens was attributed to unpaid bills and maintenance issues under the previous BJP government. 

A senior civic official overseeing the expansion of Indira Canteens said that finding land parcels to build canteens in every ward that too at a location that would attract customers was proving to be a challenge. “Availability of space is a big problem in the city. The civic body faced similar challenges in 2017 when the canteens were first opened. When they couldn’t find suitable places in some wards, they opted for mobile canteens for such wards. The problem has now intensified and finding lands for canteens is a bigger challenge today,” the official said. 

However, Suralkar Vikas Kishor, Special Commissioner (Health), BBMP said that the civic body had identified 20 potential locations for the new canteens. “The challenge is not just to locate a land parcel. It needs to be well connected by public transport and the footfall should potentially be higher at that location. Finding such lands is a big challenge,” he said. 

After over a year of the tenders being in process, the civic body has recently finalised tenders for three of the four packages, and work orders will be issued for these canteens soon. Over the next few weeks, a new menu which includes bread and jam for breakfast, ragi mudde for lunch and dinner, and coffee and tea throughout the day, will be served at all canteens except those in the West and Dasarahalli zones. 

Rewards, a caterer presently managing canteens in over 45 wards, has bagged the contract for three packages. However, the tender for another package covering West and Dasarahalli zones has been challenged in the court and is still pending.