Delhi: Panel to ease licensing processes for restaurants, hotels

New Delhi: Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has set up a high-power committee to ease licensing processes and requirements for restaurants and hotels, a move officials said will provide a fillip to the hospitality sector and make way for dining till late hours and on terraces.

The committee will be headed by the principal secretary for home and comprise senior representatives from Income Tax Department, Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Delhi Police, Delhi Fire Services and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), according to officials.

The lieutenant governor (L-G) has directed the committee to submit its report and recommendations within 15 days, they said.

"The licensing processes and requirements are often found to be outdated, unnecessarily restrictive, coercive and discretionary. They have often led to complaints of harassment and corruption as well, resulting in the fact that unlike other global and Indian cities, Delhi's hospitality sector has yet not achieved its full potential," an official said.

The committee will ease and facilitate the licensing requirements of restaurants, eating houses and hotels, the officials said, adding that besides providing an overall fillip to the hospitality sector, this would also pave the way for late night dining, alfresco eateries and dining in open air and terraces.

It is expected that the changes and amendments brought about, following the report, will not only come as big relief to the Covid pandemic-marred hospitality industry but more importantly also provide a major boost to the "night time economy", thereby generating greater employment and ensuring economic growth, they stressed.

The committee will be able to co-opt members and will take comprehensive input from stakeholder hotel and restaurant associations, among others, the officials said.

The move came days after the L-G's recent decision to allow 314 establishments in the national capital to operate round-the-clock. Their applications were pending since 2016.

These establishments included online food and medicines delivery services, logistics, transport and travel services from KPOs and BPOs. The L-G has held many meetings over the last one month with officials of Delhi Police, local bodies -- MCD and NDMC -- and environment department, among others, to ensure that an enabling regimen is put into place for the hotel, restaurants and the hospitality industry, the officials said.

"His emphasis has been on rationalising licensing requirements, easing prohibitive regulations and processes, ensuring faceless and online interface between regulators and entrepreneurs to mitigate harassment and corruption and ensuring security through proper law and order," an official said.

The officials said as of now, hospitality establishments and entrepreneurs, especially those from the small and medium segment, in the city are subjected to registration and licensing, and inspecting processes of Delhi Police, local bodies, fire department and DPCC.

These processes and requirements are often found to be outdated, unnecessarily restrictive, coercive and discretionary, they said.