Police to focus on core duties, not licences: CM Rekha Gupta

Announcing the reform at a press conference on Monday, chief minister Rekha Gupta described the move as ‘historic’

Anyone looking to set up a hotel, swimming pool, amusement park, or discothèque in Delhi will no longer have to make the rounds of Delhi Police headquarters to obtain a business licence. In a major regulatory overhaul, the city government has scrapped the decades-old requirement of securing a police no-objection certificate (NOC) for seven categories of commercial trades.

Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta with Delhi Police commissioner Sanjay Arora on Sunday. (Salman Ali/HT photo)

Announcing the reform at a press conference on Monday, chief minister Rekha Gupta described the move as “historic” and said it would streamline approvals for thousands of businesses, while allowing the police to focus on core duties like crime prevention, women’s safety, and public order.

“This reform will benefit around 25,000 establishments and over 1.5 to 2 million workers. It’s a win for both ease of doing business and strengthening law and order,” Gupta said at the Delhi Secretariat.

The announcement followed a directive issued on June 19 by lieutenant governor VK Saxena, which removed the mandatory Delhi Police licensing clearance for seven types of businesses—hotels, guest houses, restaurants, swimming pools, discotheques, video game parlours, amusement parks, and auditoriums.

“For over 40 years, anyone looking to operate hotels, restaurants or guest houses needed two licences—one from the municipal body and another from the Delhi Police,” Gupta said. “This duplication has now been removed. Going forward, only one licence from the local authority will be required.”

Gupta added that the new system would be “streamlined, cost-effective and time-saving”, supported by a single-window clearance platform to ensure transparency and faster approvals. She also cited Union home minister Amit Shah’s position that the police should not be encumbered with non-core administrative tasks like business licensing. In Delhi, policing falls under the jurisdiction of the Union home ministry.

Until now, commercial establishments in the city were required to obtain clearances from multiple agencies, including the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), Delhi Fire Services (DFS), Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), and Delhi Police. Among these, police approval was widely seen as the most complex and opaque.

According to MCD data, Delhi Police had the highest rejection rate among all departments involved in the trade licensing process. Since October 2019, Delhi Police received 51,858 applications for licences related to eating houses, guest houses, hotels and similar establishments. Of these, 36,903 were rejected—a rejection rate of 71.1%. Only 13,354 were approved.

In contrast, DFS received 29,162 applications during the same period, approving 20,745 and rejecting 3,352—a rejection rate of 11.5%. The DPCC had a rejection rate of 35.3%, while the MCD turned down 25,456 of 50,498 applications, about 50%.

A senior MCD official said the licensing process is expected to speed up significantly. “In most MCD rejections, the issue was incomplete documentation—people failed to upload required papers,” the official added.

Delhi Police, meanwhile, defended its scrutiny levels. A senior licensing unit officer said the department assessed more than 30 parameters, including criminal background checks, law and order implications, traffic feasibility, CCTV installation, and licensing for liquor and health trade.

“We don’t just look at fire safety or electricity norms—law and order is a major concern,” the officer said. In 2022, the Joint Commissioner of Police had flagged several hotels and guest houses for failing to verify guests and becoming hubs of illegal activity. “We even requested booking platforms to delist some of these properties.”

Delhi mayor Raja Iqbal Singh welcomed the change, saying it would ease the burden on business owners. “Entrepreneurs will now be able to focus on running their businesses instead of chasing documents. With a single-window system, getting a health trade licence from the MCD will be simpler,” he said.

Standing Committee chairperson Satya Sharma said the reform would reduce harassment. “This ends Inspector Raj. Business owners will no longer be at the mercy of multiple officials.”

Industry groups also responded positively. K. Syama Raju, president of the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), said the step would help an industry still recovering from economic disruptions. “Reducing compliance burdens will encourage entrepreneurship and boost investor confidence. We hope this becomes a model for other states.”

Sagar Daryani, president of the National Restaurant Association of India, called it a “significant relief” for restaurant owners. “It will save time and resources and help foster a more business-friendly climate in the Capital.”