Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has instructed the Delhi Police to streamline and simplify the licencing procedures, providing renowned shooters with licences valid across India.
This move aims to address issues of favouritism and corruption in the licencing process, benefiting not only the general applicants but specifically the country’s shooting athletes.
The LG has directed the Delhi Police to issue new licences to accomplished shooters with nationwide validity, recognising their need to participate in sporting events across different states.
Additionally, their cartridge quota has been significantly increased from 20 to 10,000 annually, with one-time cartridge procurement rising from 10 to 1000.
The initiative focuses on expeditiously processing pending applications and ensuring timely disposal of fresh applications through a modified online portal. LG Saxena has emphasised the need to rationalise the renewal process for arms licences.
Departing from the current system, where the online portal lacks defined timelines for arms licencing procedures, Saxena has mandated that all services, including fresh licences, renewal, area validity, registration, and arms sales, adhere to specific timeframes. The LG has urged the police to expedite the processing of nearly 6,000 pending applications by the end of 2024. Concurrently, a comprehensive review of redundant documents required for both new licences and renewals is underway, with the removal of unnecessary documentation in the pipeline. To enhance efficiency, the LG has directed the implementation of the modified arms licencing portal by the end of March. This revamped portal will empower applicants to schedule their interviews online at their convenience, preferably through video conference or video call, minimising human interaction and reducing the likelihood of harassment and corruption.
