No liquor at banquet halls along Gurgaon e-way

The onetime licences for serving liquor in business establishments in the red zone (within 500 metres of highways) will not be issued from now on. HC DAHIYA, deputy excise and taxation officer, west zone We officials have and met ministerstop govt and are hopeful that a solution will be arrived at. We need to find a way out or this rule will hit us hard. MANBEER CHOUDHARY, president, hotel and restaurant association, Haryana

GURGAON: The ban on liquor sale imposed by Supreme Court is likely to affect banquet halls and party places within 500 metres of the highways as the Haryana government is unlikely to issue temporary licences for consumption of liquor during functions.

The hotel and restaurant association of Haryana were informed of this during a highlevel meeting in Chandigarh.

According to the excise department, they will not issue a one-time licence for parties and functions to banquet halls that fall within the 500 metres of state and national highways.

“The one-time licences for serving of liquor in business establishments (banquet halls) in the red zone will not be issued from now on”, said HC Dahiya, deputy excise and taxation officer, west zone.

The decision by the excise department is likely to impact banquet halls and party halls along the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway and Sohna Road. Data pertaining to last year’s applications for such licences show that there are around 136 such establishments in Gurgaon along NH-8, Sohna Road, Old Delhi Gurgaon Road and Sheetla Mata Road, apart from other parts of the city.

Since the order pertains to only those within 500 metres of state and national highways, establishments along the Old Delhi Gurgaon Road will escape the ban.

Sources meanwhile said the repercussion of this order could also be felt by farmhouses in Delhi along the proposed Dwarka Expressway, which has also been designated as a national highway though the highway ministry is yet to notify it. Manbeer Choudhary, president, hotel and restaurant association of Haryana, said the decision by the state government will impact conferencing , conventions and marriage functions.

These generate a lot of business for the industry.

“We have met top government officials and ministers and are hopeful that a solution will be arrived at. There is need to find a way out or this rule will hit us very hard,” he said.