New Delhi:
Come October and no restaurant in Delhi will be able to operate without a food safety license. The restaurants that do not have licenses can apply online within a month by filling up a simple online form, the Delhi government announced today. Violation, it had hinted, will carry punishment.
The forms will be available at the government website.
Currently around 50 per cent of Delhi's restaurants are understood to operate without licenses, sources told NDTV, which carries a six-month jail term and a fine of Rs 5 lakh according to the 2006 food safety law.
It covers not only restaurants, but anyone in the food business -- even small vendors -- with its Section 31(1) stating "No person shall commence or carry on any food business except under a licence."
So far, this law has rarely been implemented. But the Arvind Kejriwal government intends to implement it partially for now, bringing only full-fledged restaurants in its ambit, sources said. At a later stage, even small eateries and roadside vendors will be required to have licenses, they added.
In a communique, Delhi's Health Minister Satyendar Jain said the government will adopt a zero tolerance policy towards food adulteration. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, he said, has directed all concerned departments to come down heavily on cases involving adulteration.
The system of online application, Dr Jain said, was meant to streamline licensing processes and encourage trade at the same time.