The district-level monitoring committee cleared five more premises, including the three prominent hotels in the city, in a meeting late on Tuesday evening. The report will now be sent to the Excise Commissioner in Chandigarh for the final approval.
In a meeting that went on till late in the evening, the Excise and Taxation officials along with other members of the monitoring panel discussed the cases pertaining to five premises — including The Leela, The Trident and The Oberoi — and decided to clear the names and send them for final approval of the excise commissioner. The other two premises are Gymkhana Club in Sector 29 and the Country Inns and Suites.
New guidelines
Confirming the development, Deputy Commissioner Hardeep Singh told The Hindu that “five sites are in the pipeline for clearance. Proceeding is in the process of signing.” The monitoring panel had on Tuesday taken up fresh measurements for The Leela, The Oberoi and The Trident in view of the new guidelines from the excise commissioner to measure the distance till the point of sale of liquor.
All the three hotels had altered their entrances following the SC order on the liquor ban to increase the distance from the edge of the National Highway-8. While The Oberoi and The Trident had closed their main entrances and opened the staff gate for the guests, The Leela had shifted the U-turn further to add a few hundred metres. However, all the three hotels now meet the 500 metre criterion fixed by the Supreme Court without altering their entrances in view of the fresh guidelines from the excise commissioner.
Green signal for 30 bars
Already, 30 bars, including those in Sector 29 and Ambience Mall, have been given the green signal by the excise commissioner. However, the fate of CyberHub remains undecided with the monitoring committee still awaiting a report from DLF. “The DLF is required to submit an approval report from the Department of Town and Country Planning regarding closure of its entry and exit. After the report is examined, a decision would be made,” said an Excise and Taxation Department official.
