Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHAR) has said that it finds the legal procedure of acquiring multiple licenses to enter the market as a ‘legalized extortion’ leading to ‘corrupt practices.’
A report in the Times of India said that that dance bars require more than 40 licenses and depending on the size of the establishment, it can go up to 80 to secure a permit.
Shashikant Shetty, general secretary of AHAR, the Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association, said, "We doubt if oil refineries or nuclear power plants require so many licences. They result in legalised extortion and corrupt practices."
One-time dance bar owner Manjeet Singh Sethi said it was time associations such as AHAR approached the SC to obtain a one-window clearance.
"The government should end this inspector raj, otherwise, despite the SC verdict declaring dance bars legal, getting licences will remain a headache," he said.
"This clutch of licences is the reason people are giving up the business," he maintained.
Anil Gaikwad, legal advisor to the Dance Bar Association affiliated to AHAR said over 32 types of major licences were to be procured from the BMC, the police, the excise department and local housing societies.
Industry insiders say this encourages corruption and are demanding a single-window clearance so that processes are swift and the scope for graft minimal.