Spas, beauty parlours work without permits, Corpn to tighten checks

According to Corporation data, 25 spas, 8 beauty parlours and 1 massage parlour had secured trade licenses. “The issuance of trade licences to such establishments was affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the process of issuing it resumed now,” an official said. 

The data also shows that 188 applications from spas, massage and beauty parlours have been received in the last two years. To prevent misconduct in the name of massage centres and spas, the civic body had issued an order mandating licenses from April 1. The rules also included police verification and a no-objection certificate. 

Of the 188 applications, 115 are from spas and 58 from beauty parlours. “While the police and health departments can take actions against any misconduct at the establishments, the Corporation can do so if these function without licence,” the official added. 

As per a rough estimate, the city had 600 massage parlours, spas and beauty parlours. The civic body had plans to conduct a meeting with the entrepreneurs on the importance of trade licences. “Even, some of the reputed brands are yet to apply for licences,” the official said. 

Several conditions are in place, including the installation of CCTV cameras and a stipulated time of functioning. the rules also mention the minimum qualification of employees. As per the new norms, massage services should not be provided behind a locked door and external doors to be kept open during working hours. Illicit activities under the guise of such establishments would not be allowed. Trade licences for beauty parlours had been mandated following a High Court directive in 2014 asking the government to bring massage centres and beauty parlours under the ambit of law. 

The Greater Chennai Corporation will have an exclusive mobile phone application to manage the night shelters and to keep track of homeless persons in the city. 

According to a Corporation official, the smartphone application would have details of all the night shelters in the city and details of the residents. “The daily report of the night shelters, including the number of residents and new residents and amount spent for operating the night shelters, will be uploaded to the applications so that the higher officials can keep a tab,” the official said. 

The official added that rescue teams would also get alerts about the rescue operations to be carried out through the applications. The plan is to link the new application with the Namma Chennai application to allow the city residents to report the homeless persons in need of help with photos. “This will help us rescue more homeless persons from the streets.” “We have floated tender inviting the developers to create the smartphone application and to install finger-print scanners at all the night shelters in the city,” the official said. Presently, the civic body maintains 54 night shelters in which 1,600 homeless persons are accommodated. The night shelters are maintained by non-governmental organisations and the rescued homeless persons are being given skill training so that they could lead a life after getting out of the shelters. As per the rules, the shelters can not house homeless persons for a long time. Of the 54 night shelters, 13 night shelters are located in major government hospitals to provide shelter for the relatives of the patients.