Mumbai: The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) has welcomed the new directives given by the Commissioner of Police (CP) to his officers, providing major reliefs to the hotel and restaurant industry in Mumbai. As per a special police order, restaurants in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane can now serve food and beverages till 1:30 am; discotheques in 4-star and above hotels can operate till 3 am; lodging house licenses to be open 24 hours; and managers’ names can be included in the entertainment licenses.

The order comes in the wake of a meeting between an HRAWI delegation led by its Member of Honour, Mr. Vivek Nair and the Mumbai Commissioner of Police on these and other key issues faced by the hotel industry.

“Prior to the issuance of the police order, many local police stations in Mumbai would ask bars and restaurants to close at 12:30 am, so that the premises could be vacant by 1.30 am, since that was an assumed deadline. Almost all restaurants complied with this deadline even though it was in contradiction to the government resolutions issued on June 5, 1999 and December 3, 2011, which allowed establishments to serve liquor till 1:30 am. For many years we have been petitioning the police to allow bars and restaurants to stay open till the official deadline. We are glad that the current Police Commissioner has finally accepted our petition and given a clear directive to all police stations that they should not enter any premises on this pretext before 1.30 am” says Mr. Kamlesh Barot, immediate past-President, HRAWI, who had made the representation to the CP along with Joint CP Mr. Vivek Phansalkar and two officers Mr. Doley and Mr. Girmal.

At the meeting, the CP patiently gave explanations for each slide having precincts and directives instantaneously for resolvable deterrents that were vexing the hoteliers. “On some of the points the CP clearly said that owing to jurisdictional and other limitations he could not intervene. But overall, the meeting was very positive. He said he would be issuing instructions that police should not accompany excise officials visiting hotels and restaurants; police officers need not insist that licensees should be physically present at all hours at the establishment; and on the issue of delay in renewal of premises licenses, he issued instructions forthright to cut the delay from the current seven – eight months to one month,” added Mr. Barot.

“It is not about one action or one directive, but we are seeing a refreshing change of attitude and intent. The approach is to solve problems and seek clarity. We are certain that going forward, the new Police Commissioner will be able to streamline a lot of procedures related to police permission, licensing and other issues. We, as hoteliers are not seeking any special favours, but a healthy business atmosphere to grow in,” says Mr. D.S. Advani, President, HRAWI.

The CP has also promised to simplify the procedure for change in the name of the manager in licenses through an owner’s affidavit by the HRAWI member and would look at affecting the change upon a mere submission of Form 32 in case of a Director’s change in a company, without stalling any operations of the hotel or restaurant member. In the meeting, he also was positive about accepting alternate parking arrangements like Valet and Pay & Park and has assured that he would discuss it with his officers.

“The hotel industry is simply awestruck with the decisions and the quick action of the new Police Commissioner. Within twenty four hours of the meeting, the CP has issued official orders giving out clear cut guidelines and clarity to directives,” says Mr. Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, Vice-President, HRAWI.

“On the issue of closing time of restaurants the CP was very positive about extending the time from 1:30 am to 3 am, but said that it was not within his powers and we should approach the Government of Maharashtra for extension of timings. He was also forthcoming about our proposal for Special Tourism Zones at Powai, BKC and Kala Ghoda and conveyed that he would readily give his consent to it if the Government of Maharashtra was expecting his approval. Overall, the meeting was very positive and we are looking towards a productive future,” concludes Mr. Kohli.

Source: Lokesh Shastri