Obtaining health licence for restaurants to get easier, simpler
There is good news for those planning to open restaurants in South Delhi. Unlike earlier, they don’t need to waste time in visiting the municipal corporation’s office several times for obtaining the health licence. The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) will be introducing the online health trade licence policy in a couple of days.
The decision has been taken following the successful implementation of the online General Trade Licence Policy for traders in south Delhi. It was introduced in November 2016. “Except for finalising a couple of things, the policy for issuing the online health trade licence has been formulated and will be introduced shortly. It will simplify the process of obtaining health licence for restaurants, eateries etc in south Delhi,” said Shyam Sharma, SDMC mayor.
As per the terms and condition, every restaurant owner has to obtain a health/trade licence which is issued by the municipal corporation or the health department of the state before running the business. “The proposal for introducing the online health trade licence was made in the budget for financial year 2016-17. And on the basis of the same department we worked on framing the policy. The move will not only save time, but also reduce the number of visits to the corporation office and documents required to get the licence,” said a senior SDMC official. As per the source, as of now about 33 documents are required to be attached with the form for obtaining the health licence. “But after the introduction of the online health licence, only 3-4 documents will be required to be attached with the form. The license fee can also be submitted through credit card while sitting at home,” said Subhash Arya, leader of the house.
According to Arya, the corporation is also working on reducing the time required for getting the licence from 30 days to a week. The initiative is part of digital India campaign launched by the government of India to ensure that government services are made available to citizens electronically by improving online infrastructure, said an SDMC official.
“It will promote transparency and e-governance in the system. However, to make sure that the information/facts shared by the applicant are authentic, the department will check 20% of the applications randomly,” the official said.
Meanwhile, with the implementation of the new online General Trade Licence Policy, the SDMC has been able to collect `5.60 crore as licencing fee during the first quarter of 2016-17 compared to `2.63 crore during 2015-16. Out of four zones in SDMC, Central Zone was on the top with the collection reaching `2.38 Crore, South Zone second with collection of Rs1.68 crore. The new policy came into force in November last year.
The revenue collected during the first quarter pertains to 188 cases of fresh license and 2,974 cases of renewal. The total cases including fresh and renewal has been included 1,819 from the Central Zone, 1,417 from the South Zone, 781 from the West Zone and 812 from the Najafgarh Zone. “The system has offered a hassle-free process along with convenience to the traders. We are expecting a massive increase in revenue from the ‘trade licence’ head during the financial year 2016-17,” said the official.
Under the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, it is mandatory for all traders/establishments to obtain trade/storage licence under section 417 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957.
