Relieving restaurateurs of hassles to ensure ease of doing business, the Delhi government on Tuesday said there was no need for Grant of Approval from the state's Tourism Department for opening stand-alone restaurants.
The move comes as a major relief to the restaurant industry in Delhi, especially after a major economic downfall due to the Covid-19 lockdown. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier directed officials to take steps to remove hassles faced by the restaurant industry in the capital.
"In terms of the decision taken by the chief minister, GNCT of Delhi in the meeting dated 07.10.2020 regarding Ease of Doing Business for Restaurants, the Voluntary Scheme of Granting Approval to the Stand-alone Restaurants being implemented by the Tourism Department, GNCT of Delhi is hereby discontinued, with immediate effect," the order said.
According to officials, the scheme for granting approvals to restaurants was being implemented by the Ministry of Tourism under the Centre on an all-India basis. However, the scheme was discontinued from June 30, 2003, and states were asked to formulate their own guidelines if they wished to implement the scheme.
The scheme was adopted by the Delhi government's Tourism Department and was formally launched in 2004 for all restaurants having more than 30 seats.
Various reviews and reconsiderations were done by the Tourism Department over the years on the request of restaurant associations. However, owing to the recent circumstances, Kejriwal has ordered the removal of the voluntary scheme of granting approval for stand-alone restaurants, officials said.
On October 7, Kejriwal had a meeting with a delegation of the National Restaurant Association of India during which the office bearers had raised the hassles they face in terms of seeking approvals from various places.