MAHA GOVT ABOLISHES POLICE LICENCES FOR HOTELS - HRAWI WELCOMES MOVE; ANTICIPATES MORE REFORMS

Maha Govt Abolishes Police Licences For Hotels

HRAWI Welcomes Move; Anticipates More Reforms

Mumbai: The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) has welcomed the State Government’s recent directive to scrap all police licences required to run hospitality businesses. A Police circular to the effect states that now hotels, permit rooms and swimming pools within city limits will no longer require a police licence to operate a hotel establishment. The association had been strongly advocating this move since a long time along with the need to implement a single window licence clearance for the hospitality industry. With this decision, the industry is showing renewed enthusiasm and is hoping for the State to take progressive steps towards ease of doing business in the coming Financial Year.

“In a single stroke, the Chief Minister brought down this colonial rule. It goes to show that the government not only has acknowledged our woes but also has committed to eliminating them. The move also goes to reaffirm that the state is clearly looking at promoting tourism. Most importantly, it is an indicator of optimism and we feel positive that the following Financial Year would bring in a better time for hoteliers,” says Mr. Bharat Malkani, President, HRAWI.

While the government has taken a step towards plugging a hole in the system, hospitality is an industry that is tangled in a web of bureaucratic red tape. There are over 121 licenses that a hotel establishment needs to obtain and keep renewing each year to either start a new business or keep the operations running.

“This move clearly is progress and an important step. We are thankful to the CM for making this possible. We had been making several representations to the State at various levels indicating how many of the prevalent laws were in fact either obsolete or in some cases plain regressive. With the case of police licences and permissions being taken out of the way, some of our concerns have been addressed. We are hopeful that in the near future single window licence clearance will become operational. In most progressive countries hospitality sector besides being one of the key revenue generators also acts as a driver for business and tourism growth,” concludes Mr. Kamlesh Barot, past-President, HRAWI.

About Hotel & Restaurant Association Western India (HRAWI)

The Hotel and Restaurant Association (Western India) is a 65 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.