The festive ambience of the city is accentuated by the latest updates from the Lt Governor’s office as the establishment is set to permit over 300 businesses such as hotels, restaurants, and eateries, along with online delivery services such as food, medication, logistics, and other such necessities to operate throughout the day without any time constraints. The move was made to revitalise Delhi Night Life, giving customers more bandwidth to explore the city. V.K. Saxena, the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi approved the exemption application for 314 such businesses that have been unresolved since 2016.
According to sources, the approval for this exemption comes from the Lt. Governor identifying issues of unwarranted delays and groundless discretion from the Labour Department in catering to the applications made by businesses pursuing these exemptions. The L-G Secretariat officials have pinpointed the belated nature of the labour department processing the 346 pending applications made during the tenure of 2016 to 2021. Proclamations indicating corruption in the department regarding the application ensured a field day for journalists in the capital. The officials highlighted that a delay in processing such applications affects the morale of the business community.
The officials also specified that at the L-G office’s insistence, the Labour Department adopted digital means to facilitate applications from the establishment. This was done to promote transparency and monitoring of the department’s operations. The aim was to ensure the punctual regulation of applications within a specified timeline to instil confidence among the business community in Delhi. The formal notice for this mandate is set to release within seven days.
see also – Kochi: Latest City to Get a Night Life?
This development was enthusiastically embraced by restaurants and traders based in the region as the 24*7 availability of businesses possesses the potential to stimulate the night-time economy as businesses can tap into this customer base of professional employees who are otherwise busy during normal working hours. The move can also revitalise the job market and the city’s nightlife.
However, some traders have expressed their reservations regarding the exemptions concerning safety. They have requested more consistent patrolling from the police to maintain law and order, otherwise occupied with covering major city centres during the night. Some have also raised concerns over the dearth of transportation options during the late-night hours, which might influence the foot traffic.
The exemptions are provided by the Shops and Establishment Act, which dictates that operational hours for all the shops must be between nine in the morning to seven in the evening in the urban, semi-urban, and rural areas in Delhi. For commercial businesses, the timings are set between eight in the morning to six in the evening.
The exemptions are set to impact Delhi Night Life, especially during the festive season, which is renowned for boosting the market economy as the consumers are more willing to spend and avail of services available.
