The Hindu : New Delhi News : Sheila determined to end `inspector raj'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 01, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Sheila determined to end `inspector raj'

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, AUG. 31. Stating that the new order for keeping shops and commercial establishments in the city open till 11 p.m. on all seven days of the week would now come into effect from September 15, Delhi's Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, today declared that she was determined to put an end to "inspector raj'' in the Capital. These steps are in line with the directions given by the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, to improve the delivery systems and end red tapism.

Terming the new decision as a major step in liberating the trade and business establishments from the stranglehold of the "inspector raj'' regime, Ms. Dikshit said this step would provide the much-needed relief to lakhs of people across the Capital. The Government has ended interference of inspectors and police in the day-to-day functioning of such establishments particularly restaurants. "The Delhi police have sought time till September 15 to ensure proper implementation of the order. The Excise Department will also come out with a policy for extending the timings of pubs, bars and other liquor serving outlets,'' she remarked.

Ms. Dikshit conceded that she faced tough resistance from officers within her Government against initiating the new moves. "The officers came up with all sorts of excuses like people will find commuting during the night difficult or that it might create a law and order problem. But we were determined not to fall for such frivolous excuses. Further liberalisation would come with the extension of liquor serving hours. The restaurants will also face less harassment as the timings for opening them have been increased and more eating options will be available to people,'' the Chief Minister said.

The government had been flooded with complaints from the trading community and restaurants owners that the labour and food inspectors were always troubling them over opening of their outlets beyond the normal hours.

However, the Chief Minister said she failed to understand how this would affect the law and order situation in the Capital. "People will now not have to rush to their homes to meet the 8 p.m. deadline for shopping. They can now either eat at home and then shop around or shop and then eat out beyond the normal hours. Delhi was losing out to competition from Gurgaon and Noida, as the outlets there were open till late in the night,'' she said.

Making it clear that there was nothing mandatory about the order, the Chief Minister said if she had her way, she would not have any such orders that tend to restrict the daily life.

PHDCCI welcomes move

The PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) president, Ravi Wig, today welcomed the decision of the Delhi Government to allow shops and commercial establishments to remain open till 11 p.m. on all seven days. He also termed as a positive step the decision to allow restaurants to open till midnight.

In a statement here, Mr. Wig said the announcement reiterates the long-standing demand of the Chamber to allow commercial establishments in the city to remain open throughout the week and late into nights, with proper guidelines and enforcement of labour laws, in order to attract greater number of people to shop in the city at odd hours. The decision, he said was in line with the need of the hour as such provisions were already in place from case to case basis in the city.The decision would definitely alleviate the pressure that the city's commercial establishments were facing from the shopping malls in the National Capital Region whose operations were not hampered by any such restrictions leading to a virtual exodus of shoppers to these places from Delhi. With the latest decision by the Delhi Government, the city's shops would be in a position to counter such competition leading to Delhi once again becoming the prime destination for shoppers. The decision, he said, would result in increased avenues of employment to the youth along with further impetus to the revenues accruing to Delhi Government.

On the other hand, the Consumer and Research Society president, D.P. S. Verma, criticised the decision of the Delhi Government and said this would have far reaching implications including curtailment of social and cultural life of the citizens of Delhi. Such a move would lead to blatant commercialisation and could possibly create a law and order situation. He feared that worst hit would be the residential areas where commercial activity is taking place, as life will become hell for the residents there.

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