Delhi Lt. Governor (LG) VK Saxena has constituted a high-powered committee to simplify and facilitate procurement of licences by restaurants and eateries in the city in an effort to further improve the nightlife of the Nation Capital and to revive the hospitality sector, according to a notification from the LG Secretariat on Monday.

The committee, consisting of senior officials of the concerned departments/agencies, will examine the existing regulations and suggest ways of speeding up the licensing processes of restaurants, Eating Houses, and Hotels.

Headed by Principal Secretary (Home), the committee will comprise senior representatives of the IT Department, Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Delhi Police, Fire Services, and NDMC.

The focus of the panel will be reduction in the number of licenses, tweaking and doing away with archaic regulations rooted in subordinate legislation, minimum documentation, fixed timelines for grant of licenses, completing online processes embedded in a Single Window portal, and promoting self-regulation among other things, the notification said.

Apart from providing an overall push to Delhi’s hospitality Sector, the move will also pave the way for late-night dining, alfresco (open-air) eateries, and outdoor dining on terraces.

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The LG has directed the committee to submit its report/recommendations within 15 days. It is expected that the changes brought about, vide the report of this committee, will also provide a major boost to the ‘Night Time Economy, thereby generating greater employment and ensuring Economic Growth, the statement said.

The move comes as a follow-up to the LG’s recent decision to allow more than 300 establishments including online delivery services of food, medicines, logistics, transport and travel services, and other essential commodities apart from KPOs and BPOs to operate on a 24X7 basis in the national capital.

Presently, hospitality establishments and entrepreneurs, especially those from the small and medium segments, in the city have to go through registration/licensing and inspection processes by Delhi Police, local civic bodies (MCD and NDMC), the Fire Department, and the DPCC.

These processes are often found to be outdated, unnecessarily restrictive, coercive, and discretionary. They have often led to complaints of harassment and corruption as well, resulting in the fact that, unlike other Global and Indian Cities, Delhi’s Hospitality Sector has yet not achieved its full potential, the notification from the LG secretariat said.