New Delhi, June 23 (IANS) In a landmark decision to introduce single-window licensing for ease of doing business, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced on Monday that only civic agencies will deal with such requests, with no role for Delhi Police in the process in most cases.

She said the relaxation in the licence regime may bring relief to about 25,000 establishments and about 15 to 20 lakh people working there.

The decision will bring transparency in the licence system so that the work of businessmen and others can be done on time, she said.

CM Gupta said ending Delhi Police’s role in the license/No-Objection Certificate for seven business activities is a very big decision by the Central government, which has fulfilled the demands of city businessmen.

She said these seven business activities include hotels, motels, guest houses, restaurants, swimming pools, auditoriums, video game parlours, discotheques and amusement parks.

“Now, businessmen will not have to obtain licences from different departments for the same business. The process will become easy, costs and time will be saved. Ease of Doing Business will be strengthened, which will give a boost to new startups, hotels and the tourism industry,” said CM Gupta.

“This decision will not only provide relief to lakhs of people and their families but also improve the law and order situation in Delhi and make the city more secure,” she said.

The Chief Minister said that the Central Government has ended this problem of about four decades. For this, she expressed gratitude towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena.

Addressing mediapersons, CM Gupta said, “For more than four decades, two licenses were required to run a hotel, restaurant, guest house, auditorium, swimming pool or any entertainment place in Delhi, one from the local body and the other from the police. Now this duplication has been done away with. Now the licence will have to be taken only from the local body, not from the police.”

–IANS

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