MUMBAI: You can now get a license to open a hotel or restaurant in the city just within a month. As a part of improving city’s ‘ease of doing business’ image, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to make the entire process online for providing license for hotels and restaurants.

Under the online new system, the health license can now be obtained within 20 to 30 days after making the application. In addition to this, the online health license system has also provided the facility of renewing the permit every five years, instead of every year, by of paying fees in advance.

Under this system, you have to apply only once to start a hotel or a restaurant. Earlier people had to apply separately to various departments like health, license, shops and establishments and fire brigade to seek their no-objection certificates.

These permissions will be now be made available through a common online application on civic web portal http://portal.mcgm.gov.in under the name ‘online services – new business application.’

“It has been made mandatory to complete the entire process of providing a license to start a hotel or restaurant within just 30 days. Earlier it used to take nearly three to four months,” said a senior civic official.

The applicant will have to fulfil all the conditions regarding fire safety, health and building structure within the stipulated period.

The inspection will be carried out by the respective departments before issuing the license, said a senior civic official.

In the city, there were 5906 grade I, II and III restaurants and eateries. Of them grade III were maximum in number (3876), followed by grade I (1679) and grade II (351).