Union Science and Technology Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh announced on Saturday, 11 July 2026 that Lakhanpur, the entry-point town on the Punjab–Jammu and Kashmir border in Kathua district, has been selected under a Government of India scheme to be developed as one of 50 Street Food Hubs across the country.

Context

Lakhanpur holds a unique geographic significance as the gateway to Jammu and Kashmir, recording consistently high footfall from tourists, pilgrims, and transit travellers on the Punjab–J&K national highway corridor. The town falls under Kathua district, which Dr. Jitendra Singh represents, making the selection a direct development win for his constituency.

In his post, the Minister noted: 'Street Food Hubs are sought to be developed as world-class vending spaces, that will promote local culinary heritage and at the same time, ensure dignified livelihood for street vendors.' He credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for 'giving high priority to J&K, which has enabled the inclusion of Lakhanpur in the very first phase of this national level plan.'

Policy Backdrop

The Street Food Hubs initiative is embedded within PM SVANidhi — the Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi scheme — which was launched in June 2020 to extend working-capital micro-credit and promote the formalisation of street vendors, initially as a COVID-19 relief measure. The scheme is administered by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, which is spearheading this latest component focused on curated vending clusters.

The legal foundation for planned vending zones dates to the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, which first mandated town vending committees and designated vending spaces in urban areas. The Street Food Hubs component adds financial assistance and additional financial incentives on top of the existing PM SVANidhi framework to develop world-class infrastructure at selected sites.

The inclusion of a Jammu and Kashmir town in the very first phase of this national rollout reflects the broader pattern of extending centrally sponsored urban schemes to the Union Territory following its reorganisation in 2019. Similar vending and culinary-heritage initiatives have been implemented in other high-footfall states under the same ministry.

Stakeholders and Impact

The proposed Street Food Hub at Lakhanpur Market will be organised into two clusters: Cluster 1 near the old bus stand, and Cluster 2 near the Sales Tax Office. The twin-cluster design is intended to distribute footfall and provide structured, dignified vending spaces across the town's two busiest commercial nodes.

Street vendors in Lakhanpur stand to benefit directly through formalised stalls, access to micro-credit under PM SVANidhi, and digital onboarding support. Tourists, pilgrims, and travellers passing through the highway stopover are the secondary beneficiaries, gaining access to a curated local food experience. The Kathua district administration will play a key coordinating role in forming the town vending committee required under the 2014 Act.

What's Next

The immediate milestones will include the constitution of a town vending committee for Lakhanpur, preparation of a detailed Street Vending Plan, and the release of financial assistance to begin physical development of the two clusters. Progress on fund disbursement and vendor onboarding will be closely watched as indicators of whether the first-phase rollout can serve as a replicable model.

With 49 other towns also selected in this phase, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is expected to issue implementation guidelines and timelines for all sites. The inclusion of Lakhanpur also raises the prospect of additional J&K towns being considered for later phases of the Street Food Hubs programme, further integrating the Union Territory into mainstream urban livelihood schemes.