23 wards in city to go ‘dry’ amid excise regime switch
At least 23 wards in Delhi will go dry from next month as the Delhi government shuts all private liquor vends in the Capital between October 1 and November 16 to ensure a smooth transition to the new excise regime. Only governmentrun liquor outlets will function in the Capital during this period.
Government data seen by HT shows that of the 272 wards in Delhi, nearly 80 don’t have government-run or private liquor stores (in effect, they are anyway dry in terms of liquor sale) and another 23 wards only have private liquor vends. With only government liquor stores functioning from October 1 to November 16, these 23 wards will also go dry during the period.
The 23 wards where there are only private liquor vends include RK Puram, Andrews Ganj, Lajpat Nagar, Patparganj, Rajouri Garden, Tughlaqabad, Kotla Mubarakpur, Inderpuri, Rani Bagh, Rohtash Nagar, Jilmil and Pandav Nagar.
The new excise policy, which aims to reform the liquor business by improving user experience, cleaning up the liquor mafia and eradicating pilferage, was implemented on June 11.
Delhi currently has 849 liquor shops which are not equitably
distributed across the city. With the new policy, the government plans to keep the total number of vends intact, reshuffling them into 32 zones to ensure a more equitable distribution across 272 municipal wards in the city, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) area and the airport.
Liquor retailers said the move to shut private liquor vends from October 1 will lead to overcrowding of government liquor stores, especially when social distancing is needed to curb the spread of Covid-19. “The closure of private vends for the 46 days will put an excessive burden on the government shops... This period is crucial as it also includes Diwali, which falls on November 4 this year,” said a retailer who did not wish to be named.
Naresh Goyal, president of Delhi liquor traders association, also expressed fears that the increased demand during festive season can lead to bootlegging. “...people will start moving to Haryana to buy liquor. It could also lead to illegal smuggling of liquor from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh,” said Goyal.
A senior excise official said that they are in the process of creating more teams to crack down on illegal sale of liquor during this time. “Adequate stocks will be maintained in the government shops... We are also looking at increasing the operational hours in case there is a lot of crowding at stores. Civil defence volunteers will also be deployed to ensure Covid protocols are followed,” the official said.
A second excise official said the closure of private shops was required for easy transition to the new retail liquor licencees. “The current licences will end by September 30 and the new retailers will need 1.5 months to set up new stores and begin operations from November 17,” he said. Last week, the Delhi government completed the process of appointing new licensees.
The state excise department earned ₹8,917.59 crore through the bidding process of the 32 zones, which is about 26.7% higher than the reserve price set by the government.
Plea seeks extension of liquor licences
Meanwhile, the Delhi high court on Monday sought response of the Delhi government on two pleas by retail liquor vendors seeking to extend their licenses till November 16 in parity with other categories under the provisions of the Delhi Excise Act.