LG sets ball rolling on gun licences, modified portal

NEW DELHI: Raj Niwas has directed Delhi Police to dispose of nearly 6,000 pending gun licence applications by the end of 2024, make a modified portal to streamline the system for licences in a time-bound manner and issue fresh permits to renowned shooters participating in sporting events with an “all-India” validity.
The modified portal will provide applicants the liberty to schedule the date and time of their interview online according to their convenience and preferably via video conference, cutting out the possibility of human interface that has often led to harassment and corruption, a Raj Niwas official said.’
The LG has asked for the cross-country permit for renowned shooters, instead of validity within Delhi only, as they frequently need to travel across the country for various sporting events, the LG House said.Further, their cartridge quota has been increased from 20 to 10,000 annually with the one-time cartridge procurement increased from 10 at present to 1,000.
Apart from speedy disposal of pending applications, fresh applications will be disposed of in a time-bound through an online portal, which will be modified specifically for this purpose, Raj Niwas said.
LG VK Saxena has directed the rationalising, an LG house official said.
“In a departure from the present system in which the portal does not give any timeline for the licencing procedure, Saxena has asked Delhi Police to make all services — fresh licences, renewal, area validity, registration, sale of arms — to be time-bound,” he said.
All redundant documents required for fresh licences as well as renewals are being reviewed and those found unnecessary will be removed, the LG house said.
The LG has directed making the modified portal operational by March-end.
Acting on the directions of Saxena, Delhi Police has initiated a reform in the grant of arms licences, till now marred by complaints of favouritism, corruption and arbitrariness, Raj Niwas said.
The move comes after Saxena managed to get licensing requirements for eateries and lodging establishments rationalised and simplified, followed by a major rationalisation of the amusement policy, Raj Niwas added.
The reforms aim to make the licence regime transparent by curtailing high-handedness and interference of government officials, the official said.
Starting January 15, Delhi Police has started granting provisional renewal during pendency of the Local Police Report (LPR), after verifying applicants’ criminal records, if any. In the case of a criminal record, police may revoke/cancel the renewal of licence. Further, the LG has directed to allow the renewal of arms licences on a case-by-case basis as some applicants may be involved in minor cases that do not involve any weapon.
For registration of arms in Delhi that have been issued licences in other states, prior LPR and genuineness proof will not be required.