Restaurateurs meet Delhi CM, other officials to discuss key issues faced by the restaurant industry

KEY STORY

• A delegation of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) had a follow-up meeting with the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday.

• The delegation had earlier met the CM on September 28 to discuss key issues faced by the restaurant industry, like requirement of multiple licences, excise-related concerns, legal drinking age in Delhi and the requirement of multiple clearances from different departments by the restaurants.

• The restaurant body also discussed with the CM how they can work together to promote tourism in the city.

• Restaurateurs and trustee, NRAI, Rahul Singh and Riyaaz Amlani were part of the delegation. Talking about the Wednesday meeting, Rahul said, “The meeting was attended by officials from different departments and it helped us bring forward our issues and concerns that need to be addressed.

• It was a meeting to help everyone involved understand the problems being faced by the restaurant industry and find solutions. We discussed various reforms required for the restaurant industry in Delhi.

I have directed the respective departments to remove unnecessary hassles in the smooth running of restaurants in Delhi. https://t.co/eIm6IgTSKo

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) October 7, 2020

• One of the requirements is to reduce/rationalise the existing excessive licencing regime. Essential regulation that needs to be retained should relate to compliances for food safety, environment and pollution, taxes and safety/security of customers and workers.

• The system should move from the present ‘licencing’ to ‘registration’ regime, with standard validity of approvals for a period of five years.”

• He also added that the restaurant body highlighted that there should be an online single window platform for restaurants with time-bound approvals and the creation of restaurant-based tourism hubs are needed to promote tourism in the city.

• “The response from the CM has been very encouraging and we are hoping that our issues will be addressed and we can work together to find solutions,” added Rahul.