Clause to bar dance in all eateries

As of now, licences are routinely issued to conduct ‘‘Indian dance with recorded music.’’ Now, the Home Department is drafting an ordinance which will propose to bar all eateries from staging dance shows, with the exception of posh hotels and clubs with restricted membership.

The view within the establishment is that if licences (to hold dance performances) are merely revoked, the bar-owners may find an escape route to continue staging performances. ‘‘We have to prevent all eating houses which have licences for serving liquor from holding dance performances,’’ said a top official.

However, officers responsible for drafting the ordinance are not sure whether it would still stand the scrutiny of the courts.

Eventually, the ordinance will become an amendment to the Bombay Police Act. And since the clampdown on dance performances would be all-encompassing, a provision will be inserted to keep five-stars, clubs and resorts out of it. This is to ensure that the move does not impact on promotion of tourism or cultural shows.

However, even for clubs and five-stars, it would be mandatory to obtain temporary licences as and when required, and not routinely, the official said.

The provision applying the ban to all eateries was inserted in the draft at the behest of Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil; the state Advocate-General Ravi Kadam has cleared it, officials said. For star hotels and resorts, an exemption was proposed on the grounds of ‘‘promoting tourism and cultural activities’’, the official added.

There are two drafts doing the rounds: one prepared by the law and judiciary department and the other by the Advocate-General. ‘‘Our job will be to put the two together and prepare a final draft,’’ said a home department official.

The government, however, will not be able to prevent girls from working as waitresses in the bars and permit rooms.

‘‘There is no law which can prevent girls from working in bars. Following a decision of the Central Government allowing women to work on night shifts, we cannot stop them from working till late in the evening,’’ the official said.