The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) approved a revised policy for the grant and renewal of trade or storage licences on Wednesday to "mitigate hardships being faced by the businessmen of Delhi".

Addressing a joint press conference after a meeting of the Standing Committee, chairman Vijender Gupta and deputy chairman Subhash Arya said the new policy would "help bring in transparency into the processing of licence cases and put an end to the era of ad hoc licences".

ROADBLOCKS REMOVED

• No new ad hoc licence to be issued or renewed. Existing ad hoc trade/storage licence holders will have to obtain regular licences wherever land use has been brought into conformity of the land owning agency
  
• No need for applicant to seek NOC from the building section of the zone before applying for licence
  
• Structural safety certificate to be submitted along with application and an undertaking
  
• Fire safety certificate will not be required -- only an undertaking will be obtained from the applicant
  
• The list of licencable trades/storage articles and their fees will not include trades that come under the Health and Veterinary departments
  
• Fee to be paid as a fixed amount and to be increased only in three years

• Regular trade/storage licences to be issued in commercial mixed-land use area, special areas, pedestrian shopping streets notified by the government
  
• Manufacturing activities being run manually in conforming areas and household activities in residential areas (without use of electricity, mechanical or other agency) to be granted regular licences
  
• Trading and storage activities started after February 6, 2007 to be licenced
  
• Small shops with a maximum area of 20 sq m, presently allowed only on groundfloors in residential premises, to be reviewed and number of shops in one plot can be increased (as per the provision of the Masterplan for Delhi-2021).