The Haryana government will now now allow all restaurants across the state to remain open 24×7. The decision was announced on Tuesday by Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala.
“In future, restaurants will remain open 24 hours in Haryana. There will be no restriction on them to close at night,” Chautala said after chairing a meeting of various departments. Haryana’s Labour and Food, Civil Supplies Minister, Anoop Dhanak was also present in the meeting.
Haryana is the only state in north India where restaurants have been permitted to operate round-the-clock.
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The office bearers of restaurant unions from across the state had recently met Chautala and demanded that the state government allow them to keep their establishments open 24 hours so that people can get food at their convenience, an official statement said.
The Deputy CM had called a meeting in the wake of this demand.
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After the meeting, Chautala said, “Keeping in mind the convenience of the restaurants and the general public, the restaurant owners of the state who want to keep their restaurants open for 24 hours in future, can keep them open. No one can force them to shut down, but they will have to register with the Labour Department and follow other terms and conditions (Section 9 and 10 of the Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958).”
“If any restaurant owner feels that someone is harassing them unnecessarily, they can register their complaint through email on MSME’s mail id — hepcharyana@gmail.com. Restaurants come under the MSME category,” Chautala said.
(With PTI inputs)