New Delhi: The Union ministry of home affairs on Monday notified the orders issued by lieutenant governor VK Saxena on June 19, exempting swimming pools, eating houses, hotels, motels, guesthouses, discotheques, video game parlours, amusement parks, and auditoriums from the need for licences by Delhi Police.Officials said the exemption from obtaining the licence or NOC from Delhi Police to run these seven categories of businesses was granted following consultation with Union home minister Amit Shah. “Delhi Police sent the orders issued by the LG to the ministry for notification, where the home minister’s intervention led to their speedy notification,” said an official.The landmark reform measure, aimed at ensuring ‘ease of doing business’ and ‘maximum governance’, comes after more than four decades of regulatory licensing regimes that were put in place in the 1980s. While licensing requirements with regard to eating houses, hotels, motels, guest houses, discotheques, video game parlours, amusement parks, and auditoriums were partially liberalised in Oct 2023, officials said the latest notification completely does away with the need for police licences for running these businesses.According to an official, CM Rekha Gupta had earlier requested the Prime Minister, the home minister, and the LG to address the problems faced by entrepreneurs in the capital. “The notification will cut red tape and mitigate harassment. It is bound to have a cascading effect all over the country, making it easier for entrepreneurs to run their businesses,” said an official.
