A district-level monitoring committee will on Monday initiate the process to verify the claims of various bars and hotels in Gurugram, which have contended that they do not fall within the 500-metre buffer zone as fixed by the Supreme Court.
The committee, headed by the Deputy Commissioner Hardeep Singh, has received around half-a-dozen representations seeking exemption from the ruling, which bans the sale of liquor within 500 metres of State or national highways.
First meeting
The first meeting of the panel, set up to ensure implementation of the order, on Saturday began with the reading of the court order.
The members were apprised about the interpretation of the court order by the Excise and Taxation Department that the distance was motorable and not as the crow flew.
It was then decided that the panel will look into claims of the bars and hotels after it received representations from them.
Quick redress
“The excise and taxation department has initated the action as per the Supreme Court order and the onus now is on the bar and hotel owners to claim exemption. The committee decided that the aggrieved party must come forward and submit a representation and an affidavit claiming that it was outside the 500 m buffer zone. All such claims will be settled within 24 hours,” said Mr. Singh.
Mr. Singh said that the opinion of the Haryana Urban Development Authority and the Department of Town and Country Planning officials would also be sought in connection with the alteration of routes. “We are committed to implement the Supreme Court order in letter and in spirit,” said Mr. Singh.
An excise and taxation department official said that many bar owners had been approaching them seeking to know the process for giving representation.
Of the 292 bars in Gurugram, the excise department identified 115 that fall within the 500-metre buffer zone and has put the renewal of their licences on hold.
The Leela, The Oberoi, The Trident, Galaxy Hotel, Crowne Plaza, Hyatt Regency, Westin, CyberHub and several bars in Sector 29 are affected by the ban.
Big names impacted
The Crowne Plaza, The Westin and a few bars in Cyber Hub have given representations for exemption.
Besides the two Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioners (DETC) heading separate districts, the monitoring committee comprises Assistant Commissioner of Police, District Town Planner (Municipal Corporation of Gurugram), Executive Engineer (Public Works Department) and a National Highways Authority of India official.
The aggrieved party can also write to Excise and Taxation Commissioner in Chandigarh and give representation to the Haryana government in case they are not satisfied with the findings of the district-level committee.
