JAIPUR: Hundreds of applicants have been left in the lurch in the absence of a uniform policy to issue trade licenses for commercial activities on the major sector roads in residential areas.
The corporations are inviting applications for fresh trade licenses from business owners through its portal. Moreover, many other departments are issuing licenses for commercial activities in residential areas. However, as ambiguity prevails due to lack of transparency, investment and efforts of many investors are going in vain. The local self government (LSG) department in January, 2017 had given directions that no fresh trade license will be issued to commercial activities operating in residential areas.
The corporations were also directed only to renew trade licenses of commercial activities operating in residential areas before 2017.
An official source at Greater Municipal Corporation said, “Despite the ban, many establishments have come up in residential areas. Due to this, the state government is losing crores of revenue every year. A letter was sent to the LSG last year to issue licenses to hotels, restaurants and cafes etc. operating on major sector roads of residential areas as it is pending from almost four years.”
A trade license is necessary to operate businesses and to get similar licenses from other government agencies. However, some of the government agencies have started issuing licenses leading to revenue loss to the corporation.
A business owner said, “The government should not accept applications if trade licenses are not issued by corporation. Several businesses are being operated in residential premises without obtaining a valid trade license from the local bodies. Serious traders should not be discouraged.”
However, the government still does not seem to be in favour of granting trade licenses to business activities operating in residential areas.
“Be 60ft road or 200ft road, if commercial activity is being done in residential areas, then a trade license cannot be issued,” urban housing development minister Shanti Dhariwal said.
The corporation, on the other hand, has asked the local LSG department for approval for trade license with a condition that it does not convert land use from residential to commercial status and application for commercial land use have to be moved by the business owner during license term.
“We are trying to work within the rules and regulations and take up such issues under ‘Prashashan Sheharo ke Sang’ so that people can be given permit to run their business especially in Covid pandemic era,” a senior LSG department official said.
A source said the ban imposed by department of local bodies (DLB) on granting such trade license had already been lifted by the UDH minister Shrichand Kriplani, but formal orders have not been issued. “Since then such establishments are operational but have not remitted license fee,” he added.
According to officials, the state government had permitted to run commercial activities on 60ft road in residential areas of cities like Jaipur and 40ft road in smaller cities and trade license is issued if the land use is converted to commercial.
