PANAJI
The government machinery has moved to the exempt municipal areas from the purview of the Supreme Court's order with the file being cleared by the Advocate General and orders in this regard being expected to be issued tomorrow.
Sources in the government have informed that once the orders are issued, which are likely to be on Monday, around 1200 liquor vends will have their licences renewed.
The Supreme Court had in an order on July 11 ruled that municipal areas were to be excluded from the ban on sale of liquor in the proximity of highways and the order was made available in the last week of August.
Margao stands to benefit the most with 349 liquor licences scheduled to be renewed once the order is issued while Mormugao and Vasco da Gama which had for all intents and purposes become a dry town on April 1 also standing to benefit the most with 312 licences set to be renewed.
On the other hand, the municipal areas of Pernem, Quepem and Curchorem-Cacora were not affected all all originally after the Supreme Court's order with Pernem having the benefit of the highway not passing through the town while there was no highway passing through the towns of Quepem and Curchorem-Cacora.
Other towns that stand to benefit include Mapusa which saw 46 liquor vends shut due to the order, Canacona, Sanguem, Valpoi, Cuncolim, Ponda, Bicholim, Sanquelim and Panaji.
Of the 2,400 odd liquor licences which were originally affected by the order only around 1200 remain without any relief as they fall in village areas and within 220 metres of the highway leading to speculation that this will give rise to demands to declare such areas especially Porvorim as municipal areas in a bid to circumvent the Supreme Court's order.
It may be recalled that the state government had issued an order back in July to calculate the distance according to the accessible road and not as the crow flies, but several liquor vends are yet to receive relief under this order.
The liquor traders association had taken the issue before the Excise Commissioner who had promised to "pass on all benefits as granted by the government and the courts to the liquor traders".
