Delhi: 30% eateries renew health trade licence, expected to go up now

NEW DELHI: Reeling under economic stress following the two lockdowns and Covid-19 restrictions, restaurants in the city seem to be slowly winding up their business.
Public health officials from the three municipal corporations say that, so far, only around 30% of eateries have renewed their health trade licences.
The licence renewal numbers are expected to go up as the city gradually fully unlocks and normal business activities resume.However, the pandemic has severely affected the operations of the restaurant industry and eateries downing shutters for good is being witnessed across the capital. Data from the municipal corporations is now ringing alarm bells about the future of the industry.
An East Delhi Municipal Corporation official said only 29.4% of businesses had either renewed or applied for fresh health trade licences. Data from the public health department shows only 771 units currently have licences (65 new and 706 renewals). Under the corporation’s two administrative zones, 305 licences were taken in Shahdara North zone and 466 in Shahdara South. In 2019, the civic body had renewed 2,615 licences and 2,678 in 2018.
Usually, the licences expire by March 31. “This time, eateries were granted several extensions. The fee ranges between Rs 10,000 and Rs 25,000 based on the seating capacity, with the highest slab being charged for more than 50 seats. In the current scenario, it’s a huge risk for eateries,” said the official.
“The double whammy of the two lockdowns hit the eateries hard. Perhaps, high rents and associated costs have made it difficult to keep the business open,” added the official.
A South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) official said the civic body earns around Rs 9 crore from health trade licences each year, but this time they had only collected only Rs 1.8 crore. Data from April and May showed that 778 establishments had renewed the licence, while the figure stood at 3,673 in 2019 and 3,750 in 2018. Officials said the renewal figures were low in both 2020 and 2021 owing to lockdowns during the annual renewal period.
For North Delhi Municipal Corporation, too, the renewal figure stands at 30%. The April-May data showed renewal of 769 licences, compared with the pre-pandemic numbers of 2,427 in 2019 and 2,618 in 2018. A corporation official said they were planning to revise the renewal rates on the lines of SDMC.