New Delhi, Dec 1 (IANS): Delhi Lt. Governor V.K. Saxena has approved the proposal to permit 83 more establishments to operate on a 24x7 basis, officials said on Friday.

The proposal of the Labour Department was duly endorsed by the concerned Minister and Chief Minister. The establishments were approved under Sections 14, 15 & 16 of the Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954, the officials said.

The Raj Bhavan officials said, "Some of these shops and establishments that figured in the list of 83 are Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited involved in the retail trade of readymade garments and accessories, e-commerce giant Amazon Transportation Service Pvt. Ltd. having delivery stations, Godfrey Phillips India Ltd. engaged in retail trade business like departmental and convenience stores, Nykaa Fashion Pvt Ltd and FSN Brands Marketing Pvt. Ltd. (Both dealing with cosmetic and beauty products) and Bikanerwala International having a chain of sweets shops."

The official said that Hennes and Mauritz Retail Pvt. Ltd. dealing with retail of readymade garments and accessories, AR Milk and Products involved in sale of dairy products, e-commerce firm Link Logistics Limited, I-T firm PCC Softech Pvt. Ltd, 24x7 Departmental Store Storex, FMCG distributors Link Logistics Limited, InstaKart Services Pvt. Ltd. doing business of courier and logistics, are some of the other business entities whose applications for exemption to operate 24x7 have been approved.

The official said that this is the fourth such proposal which has been cleared by L-G Saxena since October 2022 when first such exemption to operate on a 24x7 basis was given to 314 establishments followed by 55 and 155 in April and June respectively this year.

Now with the fresh 83 approvals there will be 607 such shops and establishments situated at various locations in the national capital that will give impetus to the economic activities.

The L-G conveyed his appreciation to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Labour Department that the applications in this regard were being expeditiously cleared in comparison to the earlier times when the applications pending since 2016 came up for approval as late as 2022.

Saxena said the Department has definitely come a long way since he first flagged the issue a year ago about the inordinate and inexplicable delay in disposal of applications, the official said.

Disposing the instant file, the L-G underlined that low disposals, many a times point towards callousness, carelessness and extraneous considerations being at play, while deciding on proposals where departmental discretion was involved.

The L-G said there was a need to mitigate any such consideration in the interest of transparent governance and all measures suggested earlier like developing a ‘Single Window System’ as integral portal for granting approval be followed strictly, the official said.

Saxena also directed the Department to submit within 15 days, detailing reasons as to why the applications that were rejected during the last one year were disposed of and what has come out of them in case of re-application. He stressed that the same will also be in the interest of conducive and investor friendly business environment and resultant economic growth of the city, apart from providing entrepreneurship, the official said.

The official said the L-G also directed the department to consider setting up a facilitation or enabling mechanism for applicants, so that they are helped with smoothly addressing deficiencies or shortcomings in their applications.

For the past more than one year, the L-G has been constantly pursuing and emphasising upon the Labour Department to take serious steps towards ensuring transparency and efficiency in disposal of such applications by way of seamless and faceless digital interface between regulators and businesses, so as to promote a conducive business environment in the city. The efforts also aim at providing fillip to the much desired ‘night life’ in the city, the official said.

The L-G, the official said, has stressed upon the need for making the targeted segment of entrepreneurs and business establishments aware of the guidelines and standard procedure to apply for exemptions under the Act.

He has also asked for developing a feedback module to identify hitches in the whole process and provide resolution to the same on a real time basis.