Tourism dept approval no longer required to open stand-alone restaurants in Delhi  

In a bid to provide a boost to the hospitality industry, the Delhi government on Tuesday issued an order discontinuing a scheme under which approvals were required from the Tourism department to open stand-alone restaurants in the city.

As per directions of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the department of Tourism has notified the termination of granting approvals to stand-alone restaurants in Delhi to promote ease of doing business, the government said in a statement.

"In terms of decision taken by the Hon'ble 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 Standalone Restaurants being implemented by the Tourism Department, GNCT of Delhi, is hereby discontinued with immediate effect," the order issued by Secretary, Tourism, Manisha Saxena said.

Restaurant operators had raised the issue of requirement of several approvals, regulations and licences during a meeting with Kejriwal on October 7. The chief minister had directed officials to remove the hassles to promote ease of doing business for the restaurant industry in Delhi.

Before June 2003, the scheme for granting approvals to restaurants was implemented by the Union Tourism ministry throughout the country. However, the scheme was discontinued from June 30, 2003, and the states were asked to formulate their own guidelines, the statement said.

The scheme was adopted by the Delhi Tourism department the same year and was formally launched in 2004 for all restaurants having more than 30 seats, it said.

In the meeting with the chief minister, a delegation of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) submitted a representation for relief and easing of regulations and approvals constraining the growth of the restaurant industry in Delhi.

The notification to remove the grant of approval by the Tourism department to stand-alone restaurants has been issued in the wake of the chief minister's meeting, and it will provide relief to the hospitality industry, encourage their economic growth and generation of employment, the statement added.