The wait for liquor vending establishments located on national highways within city limits could get longer, as the State government is yet to get a response on its plea to the Centre to denotify about 704 km of highways, including about 94 km in Bengaluru.
Additional Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary M. Lakshminarayana said that the government will consult the Law Department before taking any action.
The Federation of Wine Merchants’ Association Karnataka expects about 1,100 establishments to benefit if the Centre accepts the request.
While the Supreme Court on Tuesday indicated that it would dismiss a petition filed against the Punjab and Haryana High Court ruling allowing the Chandigarh administration to denotify highways, sources in the Public Works Department say that Karnataka cannot denotify NHs since they are the ‘property’ of the Union government. Unlike Karnataka, Chandigarh is a Union territory.
“Under the National Highways Act, States do not have the power to denotify national highways,” an official said, adding that the decision on such denotification has to come from Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH).
The State has reclassified 154 km of NHs in towns across Karnataka where a bypass has been provided. “We can take over a national highway only once a bypass is provided and can reclassify it as an urban road,” said a PWD official.
Some have relocated
Of about 10,000 liquor vending establishments across the State, 3,695 were affected by the Supreme Court order prohibiting liquor sale within 500 metres of national and State highways. In Bengaluru, 697 establishments were affected.
“Of these, 529 establishments, including 63 in Bengaluru, have relocated,” a senior official in the Excise Department said.
