For ease of business, restaurants won't need key MCD licence: L-G Saxena

Indian Express

2 days ago

Restaurants in Delhi may no longer need to run from pillar to post every year to seek a key trade licence from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) — this requirement is being done away with to facilitate ease of business, according to Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena.
Speaking at The Indian Express Expresso event, Saxena said, 'Today, there is a need for ease of doing business… People should not have to come to the government; the government should go to the people. We have ended the licencing system in the city. We have allowed the three-star and four-star hotels to operate 24 hours… If we talk about the MCD licence, I would like to tell you that it was cleared in the last meeting… MCD licences will not be required for restaurants.'
The MCD issues a Health Trade Licence to restaurants, which is mandatory for operation and is renewed annually. Last month, the L-G had passed a notification that Delhi Police clearances would not be required for businesses such as hotels and restaurants.
Saxena and India's G20 Sherpa and former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant were guests at the Expresso on Culture. The session was moderated by The Indian Express National Opinion Editor Vandita Mishra.
While Saxena asserted that Delhi is a complex city where governance is tough, Kant identified two issues, which he said, plague the national capital: encroachment and freebies.
'Even to repair a small patch of road, multiple departments have to be involved, as the road might belong to the PWD and the central verge might be under the DDA,' Saxena said.
Asked about his image as a non-bureaucratic L-G and the related challenges, Saxena said, 'I am from the corporate sector. I believe that every bureaucrat should undergo training in the corporate sector for at least six months. There is a need to understand the difference between the corporate and the government working system. In the private sector, decisions worth crores are taken quickly in seconds… their focus is on quality and timely execution of the projects… we are trying to fix this responsibility, so as to promote quality…'
Speaking about urbanisation, Kant said, 'Politicians have actively encouraged encroachments in Delhi. Before every election, they legalise encroachments. The minute encroachments come up, it is impossible to remove them. Delhi has got to put an end to this encroachment business.'
According to Kant, the culture of freebies must also end or people would have to pay a price for it later. 'If you have to provide subsidised electricity and water to people, please do that and charge more from the rich people. But if you start providing 40 per cent of your population with free water and electricity, both Jal board and electricity board will go bust financially. You will pay a huge price for this at a later date,' he said.
L-G Saxena, meanwhile, said that in a national capital, people should come to work from NCR towns to the city. 'But people live here and go to NCR cities for work… Delhi is the national capital, it should not look like a slum city,' he said.
Saxena, 67, was appointed as Delhi L-G in May 2022 and was at the centre of several conflicts with the previous AAP government in the city. The L-G, however, sought to dispel the perception that his relation with former chief minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal was that of 'enemies'.
'It has always been portrayed by the media that we are enemies but it is not like that…we have had long meetings and conversations… our views might have been different but it is not like whenever we met we would take out our swords,' he said.