Hotels, swimming pools, guest houses, video game parlours, auditoriums, and amusement parks in Delhi will no longer require licences from the police to be operational, said Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday. However, municipal corporations and the departments concerned should now grant permission for their functioning.
On June 19, Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena had approved an order withdrawing the requirement of the Delhi police to issue licences for seven business sectors under the Delhi Police Act, 1978. Businesses will now be exempted from having to obtain a no-objection certificate from the police. The exemption encompasses entities such as hotels, motels, guest houses, restaurants (eating houses), swimming pools, auditoriums, video game parlours, discotheques, and amusement parks.
The licensing power will now be transferred to local bodies such as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, New Delhi Municipal Council, or Delhi Cantonment Board.
The move comes after hotel and guest house operators sought the repealing of licences during a meeting with Chairman of the Chamber of Trade and Industry Brijesh Goyal and Industries Minister Manjinder Sirsa.
Ms. Gupta said the reform is a direct reflection of the government’s “visionary approach” and in line with the BJP-led Centre’s ‘minimum government, maximum governance’ and Ease of Doing Business policies.
