DoT reviewing restaurant guidelines

Industry recommendations take in to account staffing, floor space eligibility clause

The Department of Tourism (DoT) is reviewing its restaurant approval guidelines for the first time since 2003. On behalf of the industry, the Hotel and Restaurant Association Western India (HRAWI) submitted its recommendations to the DoT’s Mumbai office earlier this month.

The industry has been lobbying the DoT to review its rules for a few years, wary that the approval guidelines have become outdated. The matter gathered momentum with the appointment of Sujit Banerjee as DoT’s tourism secretary. After a series of meetings with industry leaders, Banerjee agreed to review the restaurant approval and hotel classification norms provided the recommendations came from the industry itself.

HRAWI set up a five member panel headed by industry veteran Ghansham Shewakramani, member of FHRAI’s executive committee and chairman, Brightland Holiday Village, Mahableshwar.

“This [review] has been our long standing demand. Things have changed a lot since the last review and the industry is getting affected. The DoT is looking in to the matter now,” said Shewakramani.

The overall approval criteria are essentially unchanged with the minimum approval marks required for classification still at 150 of a total of 200.

But two broad changes have been recommended. Firstly, in order to aid the approval of small restaurants, the HRAWI has requested that the minimum area required for a restaurant’s eligiblility be revised.

Secondly, it has requested that the requirement for 30% of the total staff to have been trained for at least one year be reduced to 15%, with further relaxation for those in small towns, rural areas and pilgrimage and hilly areas.

On why the industry did not take the opportunity to make more than two changes, Shewakramani said: “Government moves slowly on change. It is good they are at least open to this review. Let’s hope these two get approved.”

Detailed consultations between the DoT and the industry are expected to begin shortly.