By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The State Excise Department is set to amend the Meghalaya Excise Act (Eastern Bengal and Assam Excise Act, 1910) within this year to set a legally specific distance to be maintained between liquor stores and places of worship and educational institutions.
Excise Minister Zenith Sangma made the announcement while talking to media persons here on Thursday.
“At present, no one seems to bother about the distance that needs to be maintained between a liquor shop and other institutions and many areas in Shillong are shining examples of the existing situation where liquor shops, temples and mosques are located in close proximity to each other,” Sangma said, adding, “Proper distance should be maintained and this is the reason why we intend to bring the amendment in the law within this year.”
Reacting to a query, the Minister informed that the Government is proposing a minimum distance of one hundred metres between liquor stores and educational and religious institutions.
The Minister also informed that after the Cabinet approves the guidelines related to setting up of liquor shops, the Government will initiate action against erring liquor stores and bars.
Sangma admitted that most of the existing liquor stores in the city were set up based on the No Objection Certificate (NOC) procured from the respective Dorbar Shnong and other institutions since there are no clear cut guidelines on the restriction to be followed for setting up of liquor stores.
Meanwhile, the Excise Minister informed that the department earned revenue of Rs 150 crore in the last fiscal and the Government is planning steps to generate more revenue this year.
The Minister attributed the increase in revenue generation to the higher tax collected through sale of the high security hologram on liquor bottles.
The Minister also informed that the State’s first brewery has started its operations at Byrnihat and is presently manufacturing 30 lakh bottles in a month.