The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) has welcomed the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai’s (MCGM) decision to streamline the licensing process for the city’s hospitality industry. A circular issued by the MCGM has, with immediate effect, eliminated the multiplicity and duplicity of many licences and limited them to just three. The move also entails issuance of a composite licence for the hospitality industry within a stipulated timeframe, saving businesses both time and money. Going forward hospitality establishments will be able to obtain licences for commencing and operating business by submitting a single application form through a One-Window System.
“This decision is music to all HRAWI members’ ears and we, at HRAWI welcome it whole heartedly. After years of our association’s persistent follow up with various departments and stakeholders on the Single Window Clearance System for Licences for the industry, the model will now be realised to a major extent. The absence of this system was a big hindrance to both commencing and operating a business but with it being streamlined. We are thankful to the MCGM and the Government of Maharashtra (GoM) for having viewed our request with a positive approach,” said Dilip Datwani, president of HRAWI.
Of the several points listed out in the circular, weightage has been placed on ensuring that the licensing process be simple, unambiguous, and devoid of duplicity in submission of applications. With the streamlining, businesses will now be able to register online for Shops and Establishment (S&E) through MCGM web portal and its renewal could be done through its mobile app.
“Since the last two decades I’ve been persuading various authorities, here and at the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), on Single Window Clearance. HRAWI has been fortunate lately, to find and thank the like-minded Commissioners and Secretaries at BMC and Mantralaya, who have made this Single Window a reality today. The new system reduces the licencing process to a fraction of what it has been, with a ‘Combined Business Application’ form, through the designated window,” added Kamlesh Barot, past president of HRAWI.
