Traders' delegation from north Delhi meets MCD special officer, demand rollback of health trade licence fee hike

A delegation of traders from different markets of north Delhi on Friday met the city municipal corporation's Special Officer Ashwani Kumar and demanded a rollback of the hike in health trade license fees and registration charges.

Representatives of many traders' bodies, including Kamla Nagar Traders Association, Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh, Jawahar Nagar Kamla Nagar Market Association, and Kolhapur Traders Associations, were part of the delegation.

Nitin Gupta, the president of the Kamla Nagar Traders Association said that in the meeting traders apprised Kumar of the hike in trade license fees, house tax, transfer duty, and also the extra burden on the business fraternity due to these.

''We also told him about problems being faced by traders in accessing municipal services online such as health licenses, trade licenses, and submitting conversion charges and parking development charges. The special officer assured us of the cooperation,'' Gupta told PTI.

He added the special officer was also apprised of the stray cattle menace and the problem of encroachment in markets.

The public health department of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has revised the rates of one-time registration fees and annual license fees for 94 categories of health trades.

Under the new policy, a one-time registration fee for a health trade license for banquet halls with a capacity of up to 250 seats has been fixed at Rs 10,000, and an annual license fee of Rs 15,000.

The registration and license fees for the health trade of banquet halls with a capacity of more than 250 seats have been fixed at Rs 20,000 and Rs 25,000, respectively. Meanwhile, to oppose the hike in health trade licenses by the MCD, a ''mahapanchayat'' of traders under the aegis of the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) began here on Friday.

In the ''mahapanchayat'' traders will deliberate on the MCD's decision to rationalize license and registration fees for running various establishments such as banquet halls and eateries in the city.