00:00So who's keeping a check on Delhi's food safety watchdogs?
00:03India Today's undercover investigation exposes troubling questions over food licensing process.
00:09After all, if this exists, then clearly somebody is not doing their job.
00:14What are they doing?
00:16It looks like asking for money to keep quiet.
00:20A 50,000 court, which is 14,000 above the norm by the government.
00:27That gap, that corrupt gap, is what our India Today investigation has unraveled.
00:37It questions the apparent assurances that hygiene lapses won't be a problem.
00:43Is food safety now taking a backseat for money?
00:47Well, not one, not two, but several officers that we spoke with, several restauranters that
00:54we spoke with seem to suggest this.
01:03Who ensures food safety norms are upheld across Delhi?
01:08What happens when those enforcing rules appear willing to look the other way?
01:13We have shown you the filth.
01:15Now let's show you the well-oiled scam that allows this to happen.
01:22On camera, for a cloud kitchen, quotations for 50,000 rupees for a license.
01:29And hygiene issues, don't worry, they'll just look the other way.
01:35We approached an official to inquire about the process of setting up an online food kitchen
01:41in Delhi.
01:42And immediately we're told, pay up 50,000 rupees.
02:07But the official's own calculation raises questions.
02:12He cites 15,000 rupees as a one-time registration fee and approximately 7,000 rupees annually.
02:21For three years, that adds up to 36,000 rupees.
02:25So why was 50,000 quoted?
02:29Where does the additional 14,000 rupees go?
02:33Is it part of government fee or fee-outside licensing process?
02:38Where does it go?
02:41What does the charge mean?
02:44How does it go?
02:44The charge is 15,000 rupees.
02:4615,000 rupees?
02:47The charge is the charge.
02:50It's the charge.
02:5015,000 rupees.
02:51How does it go?
02:53Only once.
02:53After one-time, the tax comes.
02:54It's only once.
02:55After one year, the tax comes from 6,100 rupees.
02:587,000 rupees?
02:59Yeah.
02:59For the tax comes from 5,700 rupees, 22,000 rupees.
03:02So what will it go?
03:037,000 rupees will be paid every year?
03:04This will be paid.
03:21But concerns go beyond money.
03:24When we flag the possibility of fines over poor hygiene, pest control,
03:29the official appears to brush aside the concerns by responding, no problem.
04:16And then the payment, we ask for the mode of payment, we are told online transaction for a certain sum,
04:26cash for the rest.
04:47A 50,000 rupee license court, an unexplained 14,000 rupees difference.
04:54The whole conversation only on money.
04:58No mention of hygiene or of following norms.
05:03A report by Special Investigation Team's Nitin Jain for India Today.
05:09A 50,000 rupee.
