32 Commercial Establishments in Delhi Get LG's Nod to Operate 24/7

Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena has approved exemptions to 32 commercial establishments to allow them to function round the clock through the year, Raj Niwas officials said on Sunday. The establishments deal in Logistics and Courier Services, hotels and restaurants, retail trade, storage management services, Ayurveda and food items among others.

These include Godfrey Phillips India Ltd., Organic India Pvt. Ltd. And Bikanerwala International, they added. The exemptions have been granted under sections 14, 15 and 16 of the Delhi Shops & Establishment Act, 1954.

Out of the 32 approvals, seven have been granted to establishments that had applied for exemption for their women employees during night times. The exemptions have been given with foolproof assurances about the safety of employees by the establishments, the officials said. A total of 52 online applications were received in Labour Department up to December 21, 2023, out of which 20 were incomplete/ duplicate/deficient in certain respects and have been temporarily kept on hold till deficiency is removed.

The remaining 32 applications were proposed by the Department of Labour for grant of exemption under Section 14, 15 & 16 of Delhi Shops & Establishment Act, 1954. With this, the total number of establishments that have been granted exemptions in the last one year after Saxena took over has risen to 667. Out of these, 29 applications were approved in August 2023 and 83 applications in November 2023.

Section 14 of Delhi Shops and Establishment Act regulates the Working Conditions of Young Persons and Women. It lays down that no young person or woman can be required or allowed to work, whether as an employee or otherwise, between 9 pm and 7 am during summer (April 1 to September 30) and 8 pm to 8 am during winter (October 1 to March 31). Section 15 of Delhi Shops and Establishment Act regulates opening and closing hours of shops and establishments. Such timings are/ought to be fixed by the government by general or special orders.

Under Section 16 of the Act, every shop and establishment is mandated to remain closed on one day, after six working days.