Delhi: Guesthouses sealed by SDMC may get relief soon

NEW DELHI: There could be some relief to many guesthouse owners as South Delhi Municipal Corporation is mulling over a plan to deseal 46 guest houses, which the civic officials sealed for running without proper
licenses.

“These guest houses cannot be sealed forever, the law does not allow this. I have directed the officials to figure out a plan to start issuing licenses after following due paperwork. This should be done at the earliest,” said SDMC’s standing committee chairman BK Oberoi. SDMC recently sealed a restaurant, which was running without proper license. The eatery had allegedly denied entrance to a woman earlier, objecting to her traditional Indian attire of a saree. After that, many other restaurants were sealed by the corporation that were running with licence.

A discussion in the standing committee was held where BJP councilors raised the matter. According to Oberoi, these guesthouse owners will submit a demand draft and an affidavit to the corporation, after which the fficials should start the process of de-sealing. As per an SDMC official, these guesthouses were operating in ‘nonconforming’ or residential areas, said the official; hence, they were sealed.