Delhi: Over 350 hotels get time to comply with rules

New Delhi: The Delhi government on Thursday granted time till June 30 to over 350 budget hotels in Delhi that are facing closure after the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) issued shutdown notices to them for failing to comply with the rules.

The move comes after a delegation of budget hotel owners, headed by AAP trade wing convenor Brijesh Goyal, on Thursday, met Delhi environment minister Imran Hussain.

“Budget hotel owners have been asked to fulfill all conditions as asked by the DPPC by June 30. The minister assured the delegation of permanent solution so that their livelihood is not affected,” a senior government official said.

As per the earlier deadline, all such establishments had to comply with laid down rules by June 9. The DPCC notice had asked the individual owner to submit compliance report under section 33A of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and section 31A of Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.

There are around 1,450 budget hotels in the city. Most of them are located in Paharganj, Karol Bagh and Mahipalpur, but many of them do not had the mandatory consent to establish (CTE) or consent to operate (CTO) to run these establishments.

CTE is the initial step for any unit to begin its operation. The consent is given within around four months of it being applied for. The CTO is given by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee.

Although CTO is a mandatory part of the process, in place for ensuring that water and air are not polluted, most of these establishments did not have the required
permission.