Delhi LG launches modified unified portal for licensing of eating, lodging establishments

New Delhi [India], February 28 : In an enabling move that will go a long way in giving a boost to the hospitality sector in the city, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Tuesday launched the Modified Unified Portal for licensing of eating, lodging and boarding establishments.
This much simplified "Single Window Portal" will help entrepreneurs, businessmen and start-ups in the hospitality sector by way of ensuring that a single easy to fill form, enables them to get or renew licenses from five different agencies including Delhi Police, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), New Delhi Municipal Committee (NDMC), Delhi Fire Service and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), simultaneously within a fixed timeframe of 49 days.
The establishments will now be able to operate under a much simplified, minimal and enabling licensing regime, in the national capital.
Speaking on the occasion, the Governor said that this major step has reformed, simplified and overhauled a regulation that had been existing since 1980 and had become extremely obstructionist for the entrepreneurs in the hospitality sector.
Taking on from the Prime Minister's dictum of "Ease of Doing Business", Saxena said that governance should be about enabling, endeavour and enterprise and not obstructing and restricting them.
Right after taking over as Governor Saxena has been insisting upon providing impetus to the dictum of "Ease of Doing Business", and giving a fillip to the 24x7 economy in the National Capital.
Addressing the gathering of restaurateurs, hoteliers and others, the Governor said that, "enabling the hospitality sector, with these simplified Licensing norms, would prove to be the first step in the direction of a robust 'Night Time Economy' in Delhi.
"Since the existing license regime in the city was found to be restrictive in terms of the requirements and demands of the entrepreneurs and people, a High-Level Committee under the Principal Secretary (Home), comprising top officers from all stakeholder departments was constituted to ease the same," he said
"The Committee was able to complete its task in record time and the result is there for all of us to see, in the shape of this "Modified Unified Portal for Licensing of Eating & Lodging / Boarding Establishments", launched today," he further said.
It was informed that experiments like extending the timings of operations by eateries and restaurants in the city and clubs run by the DDA, had been encouraging. Similarly, alfresco and dinning on terraces were allowed. Residents of the city, who were going to establishments in the neighbouring hubs of NCR, got an option to patronise establishments in Delhi itself.
With the modified portal launched today, the entire process of granting and renewal of licenses has been made completely online and faceless. Establishments in the hospitality sector will now be able to get their licenses or renew them by submitting a much shorter, simpler and user-friendly Common Application Form (CAF) on the portal.
This CAF will be applicable for all 05 Licensing Bodies that include Delhi Police, MCD, NDMC, DPCC and Delhi Fire Service.
In the new CAF, 140 fields have been removed and the uploading of 28 documents has been done away with. Instead of 05 affidavits that was supposed to be submitted earlier, the applicants will now have to submit a Single Common Undertaking for all 05 agencies.
The requirement of documents for the renewal of licenses has been minimized and no fresh documents, barring those whose validity has expired, will be required. The applicants will have to submit just a common undertaking.
Similarly, the validity of Licenses / NOCs has been made coterminous for all agencies and has been extended to 03 years. Earlier, the validity varied from 01 to 05 years for different agencies, and that any time, an applicant had to run around for getting these renewed in a haphazard manner. To make the system transparent and accountable, timelines for grant or renewal have been fixed for all agencies and responsibility will be fixed in case of delays.
In any case, the entire process of granting or renewing Licenses will have to be completed within 49 days from the receipt of the application. In case, the License is not granted or renewed within 49 days, it will be deemed to have been issued automatically. This will be a vast improvement on the hitherto existing regulations that resulted in applications for Licenses remaining pending for 03 years in many cases apart from harassment to the applicants.
The number of documents required for the grant of a fresh License has been reduced from 52 to 24. In the case of renewal, while 25 documents were required earlier, none will be required now. All payments will be made online and applicants will be able to download License certificates, online.
The Governor informed that work was also on, on easing and liberalizing the Licensing norms for the amusement segment of the hospitality industry.
He said that, within a month, agencies will be able to formulate and notify far more enabling norms with regard to discotheques, musicals and entertainment for the entrepreneurs and start-ups of this segment.
"I hope that the simplifying and enabling Licensing regime launched today through this unified portal will go a long way in promoting economic activity, as indeed fostering the much desired vibrant 'Night Time Economy' in the Capital City of India, as it is in, various other National and International cities," the LG said.
He also appealed to the users and beneficiaries of the sector to comply with regulations and adhere to the prescribed norms so as to make a success of the new Licensing regime.