Meet on closure of liquor shops
SHILLONG: The first of series of review meetings to assess the impact of closing down of liquor shops which come into conflict with the provisions of amended notification was held at the office of East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner P S Dkhar on Monday.
Commissioner and Secretary Excise, J. Lyngdoh and Commissioner of Excise, M. Kharmujai had a meeting with the Deputy Commissioner to assess the situation.
The September 23, 2015 notification related to the amended rule states that liquor shops should not be set up within 200 meters of places of public worship, educational institutions and hospitals.
The order also restricts setting up of liquor shops within a distance of 50 metres from the mid-point of national/state highways within the city/town limits, and 100 metres from mid-point of national and state highways on the outskirts.
Though the restriction will not apply to bars situated within city limits, town or municipality or town committee areas, the bars will be affected if there are educational institutions, places of worship and hospitals within 200 meters.
An official said on Monday that the meeting with the East Khasi Hills district administration is part of the exercise to understand the ground reality so that a balanced approach can be adopted on the issue keeping in mind public interest and the revenue aspect.
The official said more meetings will be carried out with the Deputy Commissioners of other districts to assess the situation.
“The review meeting has just begun. We will place the outcome of the review meetings before the government for a conscious decision as there is a need to have a careful balance between revenue generation and public interest,” the official added.
According to the official, the government will also look into the hospitality sector so that it is not affected due to the closure of liquor shops. The Excise department is also open to relocate the liquor shops in line with the applications.
Out of the nearly 550 liquor shops in the state, more than half will be affected due to the order of the Excise department.
In East Khasi Hills, out of 106 liquor shops, 65 were closed by the district administration till Monday. Among the bars as many as seven within the city limit were shut down.