logo
For ease of business, restaurants won't need key MCD licence: L-G Saxena

For ease of business, restaurants won't need key MCD licence: L-G Saxena

Indian Express18-07-2025
Restaurants in Delhi may no longer need to run from pillar to post every year to seek a key trade licence from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) — this requirement is being done away with to facilitate ease of business, according to Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena.
Speaking at The Indian Express Expresso event, Saxena said, 'Today, there is a need for ease of doing business… People should not have to come to the government; the government should go to the people. We have ended the licencing system in the city. We have allowed the three-star and four-star hotels to operate 24 hours… If we talk about the MCD licence, I would like to tell you that it was cleared in the last meeting… MCD licences will not be required for restaurants.'
The MCD issues a Health Trade Licence to restaurants, which is mandatory for operation and is renewed annually. Last month, the L-G had passed a notification that Delhi Police clearances would not be required for businesses such as hotels and restaurants.
Saxena and India's G20 Sherpa and former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant were guests at the Expresso on Culture. The session was moderated by The Indian Express National Opinion Editor Vandita Mishra.
While Saxena asserted that Delhi is a complex city where governance is tough, Kant identified two issues, which he said, plague the national capital: encroachment and freebies.
'Even to repair a small patch of road, multiple departments have to be involved, as the road might belong to the PWD and the central verge might be under the DDA,' Saxena said.
Asked about his image as a non-bureaucratic L-G and the related challenges, Saxena said, 'I am from the corporate sector. I believe that every bureaucrat should undergo training in the corporate sector for at least six months. There is a need to understand the difference between the corporate and the government working system. In the private sector, decisions worth crores are taken quickly in seconds… their focus is on quality and timely execution of the projects… we are trying to fix this responsibility, so as to promote quality…'
Speaking about urbanisation, Kant said, 'Politicians have actively encouraged encroachments in Delhi. Before every election, they legalise encroachments. The minute encroachments come up, it is impossible to remove them. Delhi has got to put an end to this encroachment business.'
According to Kant, the culture of freebies must also end or people would have to pay a price for it later. 'If you have to provide subsidised electricity and water to people, please do that and charge more from the rich people. But if you start providing 40 per cent of your population with free water and electricity, both Jal board and electricity board will go bust financially. You will pay a huge price for this at a later date,' he said.
L-G Saxena, meanwhile, said that in a national capital, people should come to work from NCR towns to the city. 'But people live here and go to NCR cities for work… Delhi is the national capital, it should not look like a slum city,' he said.
Saxena, 67, was appointed as Delhi L-G in May 2022 and was at the centre of several conflicts with the previous AAP government in the city. The L-G, however, sought to dispel the perception that his relation with former chief minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal was that of 'enemies'.
'It has always been portrayed by the media that we are enemies but it is not like that…we have had long meetings and conversations… our views might have been different but it is not like whenever we met we would take out our swords,' he said.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Include Aadhaar, Voter ID: Supreme Court To Poll Body On Bihar Rolls Revision
Include Aadhaar, Voter ID: Supreme Court To Poll Body On Bihar Rolls Revision

NDTV

time3 hours ago

  • NDTV

Include Aadhaar, Voter ID: Supreme Court To Poll Body On Bihar Rolls Revision

New Delhi: Bihar voters should be allowed to submit Adhaar and voter Identity card as documents for the Special Intensive Revision, the Supreme Court told the Election Commission today during a hearing on the issue. The court pointed out that the risk of forgery - which was what the Commission had cited to rule out the three crucial documents including ration card - could happen for any of the 11 it had allowed. "There's presumption of correctness with official documents, you proceed with these 2 documents. You will include these two documents (Aadhaar and EPIC)...Wherever you find forgery, that's on case-to-case basis. Any document on the earth can be forged," Justice Surya Kant remarked. instead of "en masse exclusion", there should be, "en masse inclusion", Justice Kant told the Commission. The court, though, refused to stop the publication of the draft rolls on August 1, making it clear that the final outcome would be subject to the decision on the appeals pending in the court. The two-judge bench of Justice Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi did not hold a detailed hearing today as Justice Kant had to attend an administrative meeting with the Chief Justice of India in the afternoon. Assuring the petitioners that the matters will be heard at the earliest, Justice Kant asked the lawyers to submit the tentative times required for argument by tomorrow. Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing the Association for Democratic Reforms - one of the petitioners in the case - pressed for a stay, contending that it would inconvenience nearly 4.5 crore people as those excluded will have to wade through massive paperwork to seek inclusion. Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the Election Commission, requested the court not to interfere as it was only a draft list. Justice Surya Kant said the court can ultimately strike down the entire process if any illegality was found. The petitioners had told the top court that the Commission was violating a previous order of the Supreme Court which had suggested that it consider Aadhaar cards, Electoral Photo Identity Cards and Ration Cards. The Commission, however, said that it has already flagged its reservations about these documents, citing several fake ration cards. The bench, however, verbally told the Commission again to consider at least the statutory documents of Aadhaar and EPIC.

Bihar SIR: SC does not stay EC drive, asks it to ‘proceed with' Aadhaar, voter card
Bihar SIR: SC does not stay EC drive, asks it to ‘proceed with' Aadhaar, voter card

Indian Express

time4 hours ago

  • Indian Express

Bihar SIR: SC does not stay EC drive, asks it to ‘proceed with' Aadhaar, voter card

The Supreme Court Monday refused to stop the Election Commission (EC) from publishing the draft electoral roll for Bihar, drawn up following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), on August 1. A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymala Bagchi said the petitioners' concerns were taken care of by the suggestion in the July 10 order of the Court to also consider Aadhaar and Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC), and that the Court can always step in and strike it down if there is any illegality. In its July 10 order, the apex court had asked the EC to consider Aadhaar, voter ID and ration cards for the purpose of updating the rolls, but left it to the discretion of the poll body whether to accept or reject them. 'In the last order, there is a very good suggestion, to consider Aadhaar and EPIC,' Justice Surya Kant told Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, who appeared for the EC. 'As of now, the two documents (Aadhaar and EPIC) have a presumption of correctness, because these are authenticated documents. So you proceed with these two documents…'. Cases of forged documents can be dealt with on a case-to-case basis, the Court said. 'Wherever you find forgery, that's on a case-to-case basis. Any document on Earth can be forged,' Justice Kant said, adding that there 'should not be en masse exclusion', rather there should be 'en masse inclusion'. At the very outset, Justice Kant said he had an administrative meeting scheduled and might not be able to hold court for the rest of the day. He asked the parties to inform how much time they would need to argue, and said the Court would fix a date for hearing. Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for petitioner Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), said the EC 'had violated the Court's order' as far as considering Aadhaar and EPIC cards went. Justice Kant referred to the counter affidavit filed by the EC and remarked that the poll panel has not rejected the two documents. Sankaranarayanan replied that 'factually, on the ground, they are not accepting'. Justice Kant said: 'It seems their stand is that the list of documents which initially excluded Aadhaar is not exhaustive, and following this Court's direction or advice, these documents will also be accepted.' Dwivedi, appearing for the EC, said: 'What we have said is that as far as ration cards are considered, we have difficulty in accepting… large-scale (forgery).' He added: 'As far as the EPIC card is concerned, the pre-filled enumeration form includes the EPIC number… EPIC is being considered, but since the electoral roll is being revised, EPIC cannot be conclusive… because this is a Special Intensive Revision.' Justice Bagchi said the EC can take it into account if someone submits the enumeration form with Aadhaar and, if necessary, issue a notice thereafter. 'Maybe one in a thousand cases, you will find this EPIC card is also forged, that can be (dealt with) on a case-to-case basis,' said Justice Kant. 'For that matter, any document on this Earth can be forged. Then Aadhaar can also be… So, as of now, the two documents (Aadhaar and EPIC) have a presumption of correctness, because these are authenticated documents. So you proceed with these two documents….' Dwivedi said the EC was allowing Aadhaar, adding: 'What we are saying is that under the Aadhaar Act itself, Section 9 says that, by itself, it is not proof of citizenship.' The Court asked the parties to submit the timeline Tuesday after which it will fix the next date of hearing.

Mass inclusion and not exclusion should be goal of Bihar SIR, says Supreme Court
Mass inclusion and not exclusion should be goal of Bihar SIR, says Supreme Court

The Hindu

time4 hours ago

  • The Hindu

Mass inclusion and not exclusion should be goal of Bihar SIR, says Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Monday (July 28, 2025) pushed harder for the Election Commission of India (ECI)) to accept Aadhaar and the Elector's Photo Identity Card (EPIC) as identity documents in the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR), saying 'mass inclusion' and not 'en masse exclusion' should be the outcome of the exercise in the poll-bound State. With three more days left for the publication of the draft electoral roll on August 1, the ECI continued to resist the court's suggestion, saying Aadhaar, EPIC and ration cards could be forged easily. On July 10, the apex court had asked the Election Commission to consider these three documents to ward off the spectre of mass disenfranchisement even as petitioners, ranging from activists to political parties, called the SIR a 'citizenship screening'. Bihar SIR row hearing updates 'Any document on earth can be forged. Maybe one EPIC in a 1000 may not be genuine. That can be take up on a case-to-case basis… For that matter, any document on this earth can be forged,' Justice Surya Kant, accompanied by Justice Joymalya Bagchi, addressed the Election Commission (EC). Justice Kant said Aadhaar and EPIC have a 'presumption of correctness'. Aadhaar has a system of being authenticated when in use. EPIC was issued by the EC itself. 'So, proceed with Aadhaar and EPIC… Include these two documents in the list of 11,' Justice Kant said. Justice Bagchi reasoned that none of the 11 'indicative' documents acceptable as proof of identity were of a conclusive nature, be it residence or caste certificates. 'According to you none of these 11 documents are conclusive. They are just documents to accompany the enumeration forms. So if someone gives an Aadhaar card as proof of identity, why will you not evaluate the claim of the person to be in the electoral roll?' Justice Bagchi questioned the EC's logic. Senior advocates KK Venugopal and Rakesh Dwivedi appeared for the EC. The petitioners were represented by senior advocates like Kapil Sibal and Gopal Sankaranarayanan. The court, which rose early, said it would announce on July 29 an early date and a proper schedule for hearing the final arguments in the case. Mr. Sankaranaraynan alerted the Bench about the proximity of the date of publication of the draft roll, August 1. But Justice Kant was unperturbed, saying 'it was only a draft'. Noting that the petitioners had not insisted on any interim relief of the stay of the publication or a freeze on the SIR exercise, the judge assured the petitioners that publication of the draft roll would not shrink the powers of the court to overturn any decision of the EC, provided the petitioners prove their case. The senior lawyer said the publication of the draft roll would leave 4.5 crore people excluded from it rudderless. The burden would be transferred onto them to prove their identity and citizenship, file objections and even seek a review. At this point, Justice Bagchi drew the counsel's attention to the EC affidavit which stated that voters who were in the existing 2025 electoral roll of Bihar would feature in the draft roll to be published on August 1, provided they submitted their enumeration forms, with or without documents. The existing electoral roll was published in Bihar on January 7, 2015 after a special summary revision of the electoral roll. 'In substance, each elector included in the 2025 electoral roll shall form part of the draft roll merely on submission of the enumeration form,' the 88-page ECI affidavit had submitted. The electors who were unable to submit their enumeration forms with documents in time for the draft roll had another opportunity to be included in the final roll. 'This claims period is stipulated for another period of 31 days after publication of the draft roll, ie, till September 1, 2025,' the ECI clarified. The final roll would be published on September 30, 2025. 'Even after the publication of the final roll, new electors can be enrolled up to the last date of nominations of the forthcoming Bihar elections… Any apprehension of huge disenfranchisement is misleading and non-existent,' the ECI has assured. Further, the ECI said electors whose names already feature in the electoral roll of Bihar in 2003, when the last intensive revision was held, were exempted from furnishing documents to prove their eligibility. 'They are only required to file the partially pre-filled enumeration form along with the extract of the 2003 roll,' the affidavit had said.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store