Delhi: De-sealing charges hiked to three times the licence fee

Commercial establishments such as restaurants, coffee shops, banquet halls and health clubs in south Delhi, sealed for being in violation of civic norms, will soon have to shell three times the amount of the health licence fee in order to get the establishment de-sealing. A proposal regarding the same was approved by the standing committee of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) on Tuesday.

The proposal prepared by the public health department will now be presented before the SDMC House for a final approval.

Currently, the de-sealing fee was Rs 15,000 for all kinds of health trade licence holders.

Standing committee chairman Rajdutt Gahlot said the proposal to revise and increase the de-sealing charges from the present charge of Rs 15,000 to three times the licence fee was approved in order to curb violations of building by-laws, licence renewal norms, structural and operational guidelines.

“The fee has been hiked to discourage illegal trades and violations of norms by businessmen. The licence fee starts from as low as ₹2,500 for minor trades such as fruit juice shops, barber shops (up to five chairs) etc and goes up to ₹50,000 for bigger establishments such as restaurants, banquet halls, coffee shops, cinema halls and health clubs, among others. The violators will be charged three times the amount of the licence fee in order to get their properties de-sealed,” Gahlot said.

If approved by the SDMC House, the hiked charges will apply to shops that were sealed by the corporation. The shops that were sealed by the Supreme Court-monitoring committee for being in violation of norms can be de-sealed only on the court orders.

Ashwani Marwah, general secretary, Traders Association Lajpat Nagar, said that though the move may pinch traders, it is important to create a deterrent for violations. “The hike in fee may create a fear and prevent violation of civic norms. Adhering to norms will only be in favour of traders.”

However, many other traders felt that the move will only impact businessmen who have already been hit by sealing and low sales because of the Covid-19 pandemic.