56 south Delhi restaurants get permission for open-air dining in last 9 months

Under the policy, open-air dining has been allowed only at those restaurants that have privately-owned open spaces such terraces, balconies, lawns so that there is no encroachment on public land or pavements.A senior SDMC official said that in the last nine months till June end, the civic body received 94 applications out of which 56 were granted licenses and 28 were rejected for not fulfilling the norms.Ten applications are under scrutiny process.

Fifty-six restaurants in south Delhi have been permitted to serve food and beverages in open spaces such as terrace as the south civic body approved these pleas out of total 94 applications in the last nine months, officials said on Thursday.

According to the open-air dining policy of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), a liquor licence, which is issued by the excise department, is mandatory to serve alcoholic beverages in open areas such as rooftops, balconies or lawns.

The SDMC officials said that apart from having a liquor serving licence, according to the policy, restaurant owners would also have to install view cutters and high parapet grilles to ensure that there is no inconvenience to others.

The SDMC had passed its open-air dining policy in September 2020. Under the policy, open-air dining has been allowed only at those restaurants that have privately-owned open spaces such terraces, balconies, lawns so that there is no encroachment on public land or pavements.

A senior SDMC official said that in the last nine months till June end, the civic body received 94 applications out of which 56 were granted licenses and 28 were rejected for not fulfilling the norms.

''Ten applications are under scrutiny process. The maximum 39 applications were received from south zone which has areas such as Hauz Khas, Green Park and Greater Kailash. The second highest number of 31 applications were received from Najafgarh zone which comprises areas such as Dwarka, Aerocity,'' the SDMC official said, requesting anonymity.

Fifteen applications were received from central zone having areas such as Lajpat Nagar, Bhogal and Defence Colony. Nine applications were received from western zone which has areas like Punjabi Bagh, Rajouri Garden and Tilak Nagar.

''As many as 23 licenses were granted in south zone, 25 in Najafgarh zone, seven in central zone. Only one was granted licence for open-air dining in west zone.

''Two applications of south zone and eight of central zone are under process. A maximum of 14 applications from the south zone were rejected, while there was no rejection in the central zone. Eight applications in the west zone and six in the Najafgarh zone were rejected,'' the SDMC official elaborated.

Initially, the response towards the policy was tardy as the civic body had received only four applications till December 2020 while the policy was approved in September 2020.

According to civic authorities, the open-air dining policy does not allow cooking or barbecuing in the open.

''The food can only be served in the open spaces of restaurants but it should be cooked in closed kitchens. Light music can also be played in an open-air dining area. However, live band performances will not be allowed,'' the officials said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)