Delhi Lt. Governor Sets November Deadline to Streamline Shop Licences, Building Permits

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu set a November‑end deadline for the Delhi government to finish deregulation reforms in the capital's shop and building permit sectors on Thursday. The move follows missed June 30 and August 31 cut‑offs and pushes the remaining work to the end of the year. Of the 23 priority areas identified in Phase I, 22 are now complete, leaving only the rationalisation of minimum road width for rural industries still open.

MCD Commissioner Pooja Gupta said the duplicate trade licence issue is resolved and permanent registration for shops is now in place.

The Delhi Development Authority is collaborating with the MCD to revise the Unified Building Bye‑Laws, 2016, moving four no‑objection certificates—water, factory, forest and pollution—out of the building‑plan approval process. The proposal is advanced but not finalized.

The Delhi Ease of Doing Business Bill, 2026, which has cleared the cabinet, will establish a single‑window system for business approvals, fast‑track clearances and simplified procedures for low‑risk activities. The bill will be forwarded to the Union Home Ministry for clearance before it is taken up by the Assembly.

Other notifications include revisions to legal metrology licensing and private school infrastructure requirements, while the Delhi Private University Bill has also received cabinet approval for placement before the Assembly.

A shop owner in Karol Bagh, Ramesh Kumar, said the new perpetual registration will cut his paperwork from months to days, allowing him to reopen his stall after a year‑long closure.

The remaining reforms must be finalized by the end of November, after which the government will seek Union Home Ministry approval for the Ease of Doing Business Bill.