New Delhi, Aug 17 (PTI) The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) on Tuesday approved the waiver of interest and penalties on renewal of health trade licences, the civic body said in a statement.

It said the decision was taken at a meeting of the standing committee of the SDMC.

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The civic body also approved the procurement of electric road sweeping machines worth Rs 14 crore, the statement said.

"The Standing Committee, while giving the go-ahead for the waiver, said that the move will help traders who have been reeling severely owing to the ongoing Covid pandemic.

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"As the pandemic has crippled their business, majority of traders had not renewed their Health Trade Licence before April 30, 2021. Hence the decision will help them in renewing licences without paying interest and penalty," it said.

The standing committee has approved waiving of interest and penalty till August 31, 2021.

Standing Committee Chairman B K Oberoi said the move will help traders living in the SDMC area to restoring their trade as they were badly hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Not only traders other citizens too are affected due to the crisis hence the move will provide a kind of relief to such people. He said that the civic agency is making all possible efforts to help and support its citizens during such a crucial time,” Oberoi said in the statement.

Meanwhile, the SDMC Standing Committee also approved the purchase of four battery-operated sweeping machines at an expenditure of Rs 14 crore.

Civic officials said that the move is aimed at not only reducing the operational cost but also conservation of the environment.

According to the proposal, the battery-operated sweeping machines will lead to a saving of Rs 7,175 per shift per machine in fuel cost as compared to diesel-operated mechanical road sweeping machines.

“Initially in the first phase, only four battery-operated road sweeping machines will be procured. This will be purchased using urban development fund (UDF) from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs,” an SDMC official said.

Currently, the SDMC has 18 bigger road sweeping machines with six cubic metre capacity and six machines with 4.5 cubic metre capacity. These are diesel-operated truck-mounted road sweeping machines.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)