Even as the ambiguity continues over the Supreme Court order banning liquor shops within 500 metres of national and State highways across the country, the Excise and Taxation Department here has decided to measure the distance to the bars/pubs by road.
Earlier, the department had measured the distance by air, which would have impacted 80-odd bars and pubs, including prominent hotels, and around 90 liquor vends.
Loss of revenue
A senior official said on condition of anonymity that the department had earlier measured the distance to the pubs/bars by air.
As per this, more than 80 pubs/bars came under the 500-metre limit fixed by the Supreme Court. According to the official, 90 liquor vends were also located within this limit. “If all these places are shut down, it would cause considerable loss of revenue to the government. But, the Supreme Court order has to be adhered to. Now, we have decided to measure the distance by road. A few bars and pubs will benefit because of this. For instance, a prominent hotel near the Signature Towers intersection falls within the 500-mtr limit when measured by air. But, going by road, the distance is more than the limit,” the official added.
‘How to measure distance?’
Joint Commissioner (Excise and Taxation) Dilbagh Singh said: “Though the petition in the Supreme Court was against retail vends, the court has said that no retail of liquor be allowed within 500 mtrs of a highway. Since bars and pubs are also involved in retail sale of liquor, these will be impacted. Also, it is not clear as how to measure the distance. As of now, we have measured the distance of bars/pubs from the highways by air to assess the loss of revenue. But, more clarity is needed.”
According to Mr. Singh, licences of bars/pubs would not be renewed if they are found violating court orders.
Though the Punjab and Haryana High Court had also ordered against liquor vends along national and State highways in the two States three years ago, the order did not include a specific distance. “The earlier order did not stipulate any distance and merely said that liquor shops should not be visible and accessible from the highways. So, we pushed the vends back. This time, the court has stipulated a fixed distance,” said Mr. Singh.
Risking unemployment
Arvind Kumar, manager at The Wine Company, DLF Cyberhub, said that bars and pubs should be kept outside the ambit of the Supreme Court order as it would lead to unemployment and huge revenue loss.
Mr. Kumar added that several bar owners had come together to discuss the implications of the order and to devise a strategy to deal with it.
