Bengaluru: The Supreme Court ban on liquor vends on National and State highways with effect from April 1, 2017 has sent the state government in a tizzy because around 50 per cent of its liquor vends are on the highways and will have to be removed as per the now mandatory 500-metres-distance from the highways.
“Out of the 10,097 Excise licensees in Karnataka, around 4,500 licensees are located on the highways. They will have to be relocated before the March end deadline. The Excise Commissioner has asked all the 33 deputy commissioners to give details on how many liquor outlets will be impacted by the SC order by December 26," said an officer on condition of anonymity.
“The Department will furnish the figures and the impact of the order to the state government soon after it gets the field data from the DCEs,” the officer added. He added that the order will impact state tourism and revenue besides the livelihood of people, who are employed in these outlets. The apex court has slammed the states and Union Territories (UTs) for speaking on behalf of the liquor lobby.
The Supreme Court on December 15 took serious exception to the high number of fatalities (approximately 1.5 lakh annually in road accidents) on the highways across the country and banned States and UTs from renewing licences to highway liquor outlets after March 31, 2017.
