Combined with permission to operate 24/7, and the imminent death of drinking permits, this may just save Mumbai’s life after work.The state government on Monday took yet another step to revitalise Mumbai’s night-life by reducing from 38 to 19 the number of licences, permits, NOCs and registrations required to open a new restaurant.The decision was taken at meeting chaired by Chief Secretary J K Banthia at Mantralaya in the presence of all department heads concerned with issuing these licenses.A final decision will be taken on Friday when the chief secretary will meet the same set of bureaucrats again. He will then discuss the matter with the chief minister and his cabinet.Of the 38 licenses, eight will discontinued and eleven would be combined. The licences and permits that would be discontinued are:♦ Licence for rolling shutters♦ Medical certificates for employees♦ Permit room licence♦ Pollution NOC♦ Police registration certificate♦ Live orchestra/performance♦ Permit for chimney♦ DJ licence from policeSeveral other licences and permits will be combined to clear the clutter. For instance, there will be now a combined licence for signages, neon signs and stall boards.Restaurant owners believe that fewer licences would not only encourage investment into new restaurants, but also make it easier to run one. Ashok Dattwani, the owner of Big Nasty night club, said he hopes this indicates that the government is finally willing to recognise the restaurant business as an industry. “This move will definitely work in our favour when the industry is going through its worst time. More and more people will now think of entering our industry.”Already, two vital moves have been made to give Mumbai’s night-life its mojo back. One, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation recently wrote to the state government recommending that restaurants and night clubs be allowed to remained open 24X7. Currently, restaurants cannot remain open beyond 1.30 am.Two, process has been initiated to rid Mumbai of drinking permits. A remnant of Raj, anyone consuming alcohol in the city needs to carry this permit. While this permit’s use for law enforcement agencies is fuzzy, it’s a big tool in a corrupt cop’s harassment armoury.Sudheer Behl, who owns Khyber restaurant in Fort, said that restaurant regulations and licensing is in such a mess that any change would be good. “Over-policing and over-regulation has destroyed the industry. The move to cut the number of licences required to open a restaurant will certainly help,” he said.Mohini Chabbria, who owns Mangiamo Pub in Bandra, said Mumbai’s nightlife is nearly dead. “People are more interested in house parties. This is an excellent move made by the government. We hope nightclubs will be allowed to remain open till wee hours,” she said.