NEW DELHI: Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu, along with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Wednesday, reviewed the progress of the Deregulation & Compliance Reduction exercise, aimed at achieving “Ease of Doing Business” and “Ease of Living”.
The L-G, underlining the importance of Ease of Doing Business and Ease of Living, said that any laxity in implementing the same was non-negotiable. Talking about the progress made, the Chief Minister said that despite the delays during the tenure of the previous government, significant progress had been made now.
The exercise, being spearheaded by the Cabinet Secretariat, aims to reform and simplify regulations and procedures to enhance Ease of Doing Business and Ease of Living, is being carried out through a dedicated Task Force and Deregulation Cell set up under the Cabinet Secretary.
The meeting reviewed the two phases of the Deregulation exercise and detailed the status of the implementation of different identified “Priority Areas” (PAs). Phase-I of the Deregulation exercise, launched in January, 2025, focussed on 23 PAs and Phase-II, launched in January, 2026 focuses on 23 PAs and 05 optional PAs.
Of these, 13 PAs have been implemented, 04 were not applicable following the enactment of the new Labour Codes, and 06 are under advanced stages of implementation, the meeting was informed. These will be implemented after the new Master Plan for Delhi (MPD) is notified.
The meeting also reviewed the progress made on Phase-II since mid-June. It was informed that implemented 09 PAs were implemented, including reforms such as the removal of dual trade licences by the MCD, liberalised regulations for shops and commercial establishments, and expedited electricity connections. Of the remaining Priority Areas, 17 are under active implementation, while PAs pending with departments have been brought down from 3 to 2.
The meeting noted that several important reforms under the exercise, including rationalisation of setbacks, Floor Area Ratio, ground coverage, and other Development Control Norms for industrial and commercial plots, are closely tied to the finalisation of the upcoming (MPD-2041).
Draft Delhi Ease of Doing Business Bill reviewed
The meeting was also apprised of the progress on the draft Delhi Ease of Doing Business Bill, 2026, which addresses 13 of the 28 Priority Areas identified under the Phase-II docket. The draft Bill, circulated to 29 departments for comments and stakeholder consultations, is almost finalised and is expected to be cleared by the Cabinet within a week.