Vadodara Municipal Corporation Abolishes Health License For Hotels & Restaurants

Vadodara Municipal Corporation Abolishes Health License For Hotels & Restaurants

HRAWI Hails Move; To Press For Curtailing Of Licenses Across Cities

by Suman Gupta 

Vadodara: In a landmark move the Vadodara Municipal Corporation has abolished health licences for hotels and restaurants operating in the city. According to a notification issued by the Corporation, Sanitary Health License under G.P.M.C Act was duplication as health and sanitation are already covered under Food & Safety Act 2006. “Central Govt and State Govt has in recent times been emphasising on ‘ease of doing business’ and simplification of regulations to reduce difficulties faced by general public. Considering this matter, with immediate effect, Vadodara Municipal Corporation, Ward Offices, Health Department, has cancelled issuance of Health License under Sec. 376 of G. P. M. C. Act, wherever license under Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006 is required and issued,” states the notification.

Hailing the move as a milestone in the history of corporate India, The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI), the apex body representing hotels and restaurant across the western region of India has commended Vadodara’s new Municipal Commissioner and expressed hope that other cities will follow the precedent.

“For the last nine years we have been petitioning Municipalities across the Western Region for the exclusion of this particular license as it was a repetition and merely added to paper work and red tapism. The association welcomes the decision and appreciates the affirmative and expedited action of Mr. H.S.Patel, Municipal Commissioner, Vadodara,” says Mr Bharat Malkani, President, HRAWI.

As per law, when any Central law is applicable, then the provisions of that law prevail over local laws and any provisions in local laws up to that extent become inapplicable. The Central Govt. has issued notification to this effect under the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006 and also remarked the same in a circular.

“The hotel industry is one of the most licensed industries in India and is required to obtain and maintain anywhere around 75 to 135 licenses, depending upon the outlet's layout. Over the past decade and more, it has been solely our Association that has been in liaison with the Government to remove redundant and overlapping condition licenses, where such duplications could have been easily done away with long ago,” says Mr Kamlesh Barot, past President, HRAWI.

The HRAWI has been at the forefront for working with the Government as part of inclusive governance. It has made several presentations at state levels including the idealistic, single window clearance system, which has in-principle received a nod from the authorities.

“As an Association working in conjunction with the Government, our objectives are an extension of our aim of serving the HRAWI members. In Mumbai too, it was HRAWI’s pioneering efforts for 24/7 operations and a vibrant nightlife, that the Government has almost adopted the centre’s model Shops & Establishment Act. We have also proposed alternatively, five Tourism Zones to the authorities to pilot the implementation of this new amendment in certain designated areas of the city, where tourism can be promoted without disturbing any residents, thus providing international level places of recreation in this metropolis. Likewise with the single window clearance system, HRAWI has presented to the Government the advantages of introducing online systems that will lead to the curtailing of bureaucracy and make processes swift, transparent and efficient for consumers and the authorities as well as for establishments to invest. We have big hopes from this Government and are positive that it will make the 'Ease of Business' a reality for industries like us,” concludes Mr Barot.

About Hotel & Restaurant Association Western India (HRAWI)

The Hotel and Restaurant Association (Western India) is a 66 years old Association of Hotels and Restaurants in Western India. Its members include smaller Hotels up to 5-Star Deluxe categories. The bulk of its members like any growth economy are made up of budget hotels. With around 1300 members across Western India, HRAWI covers Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa and the Union Territories of Daman, Diu & Silvassa, and is considered to be the voice of the Hotel Industry. The association is part of the national body of Federation of the Hotels & Restaurants Associations of India (FHRAI), located in New Delhi, which was originally founded in Mumbai in 1950 by the late Mr. J.R.D. Tata.