The State government has decided to honour the opinion given by former Advocate General Adv Saresh Lotlikar as well as that of the Attorney General of India Mukul Rohatgi that the Supreme Court’s order on liquor vends along the highways is to be implemented only in the case of retail sale of liquor.
PANAJI
Directions in this regard have been issued to the excise officials who will begin the process of renewing licences of those not affected by the order and not renewing those affected.
The decision will leave the total number of those affected at a little above 700 down from the more than 2,000 to be affected if the ban applied to bars and restaurants as well as to wholesalers.
Last week a delegation of the Goa Liquor Traders approached the Chief Minister and asked him to count the distance from the highway along the accessible road and not as the crow flies as it would reduce the number by a further hundred.
The association also sought that if the the current state highways were denotified into major district roads the number would come down further by 400.
“The remaining could be given one year period to relocate,” the association suggested to the chief
minister.
The excise department has however claimed that it has yet to receive any directions from the chief minister’s office.
The Supreme Court ban ony all liquor shops within 500 metres of national and state highways across
the country is aimed at reducing drink driving and road accidents.
The top court had come down heavily on states for not paying heed to the Centre’s advice not to give licence to shops selling alcohol along the national and state highways.
