Kurukshetra has made it to a prestigious national list: the holy city is among 18 cities across India selected for organised street food hubs under the PM SVANidhi scheme, and the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has now released the first tranche of funds for the project. Each selected city will receive financial assistance of Rs 4 crore for its food hub, released in three instalments тАФ 30 per cent first, 50 per cent second and the remaining 20 per cent after completion. Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal released the first instalment last month at the National Urban Conclave 2026 in Bhubaneswar.
The street food hub initiative was launched by the Ministry in April as part of the PM SVANidhi scheme, with the aim of developing up to 50 organised street food hubs across the country. More than 150 proposals were received from cities and towns, of which only 18 were selected after evaluation. The hubs are meant to give street food vendors organised, hygienic and well-equipped vending spaces, improving their livelihoods while giving cities cleaner and better-planned food streets. Implementation runs through the department of urban development on a convergence-based approach, with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India involved in standards.
For Kurukshetra, the hub is planned near the Brahma Sarovar, one of the city’s most visited landmarks. Haryana’s first street food hub will be developed by the Thanesar Municipal Council on a 2-acre site at the Mela Ground, divided into four zones for different cuisines, with around 100 kiosks, parking and seating arrangements. The Mahabharata-themed hub is being planned for completion before the Gita Jayanti Mahotsav later this year, so that pilgrims and tourists visiting the festival can use it. A detailed project report was under preparation after the project received approval, and the release of central funds now moves it a step closer to construction.
The other selected cities are Ahmedabad and Dwarka in Gujarat, Ayodhya and Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, Bhubaneswar and Puri in Odisha, Cyberabad in Telangana, Daman, Indore and Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, Lakhanpur and Tangmarg in Jammu and Kashmir, Madurai in Tamil Nadu, Manali in Himachal Pradesh, Mysuru in Karnataka and Nathdwara in Rajasthan. For Kurukshetra, the hub promises a cleaner food street for residents, new earning opportunities for local vendors, and one more attraction for the lakhs of pilgrims who visit the Brahma Sarovar through the year.
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