Licences of 430 liquor vends located in cities could be renewed following the Supreme Court’s recent observation on its liquor ban order.
Panajirr The SC didn’t express its opposition to state governments to denotifying highways that were passing through city limits, in an attempt to implement its liquor order. rThe apex court had also clarified that its intention was to prevent deaths due to drunken driving on national highways, thereby forcing the court to order the ban of alcohol sale within 500 metres of the outer edge of national and state highways. rThe SC further observed that municipal or district roads passing through cities were not the target of the ban. Within Goa, highways cut through Margao, Vasco and Ponda, where alcohol shops and restaurants serving liquor have been shut since April 1. rAll such establishments will get relief, provided the state government de-notifies highways going through these towns. rThe source said, “Around 350 alcohol licences in Vasco, 50 licences in Margao and 30 licences in Ponda are likely to be renewed, but for this to happen, the highways must be de-notified.” rThe number of liquor licences, which will now face permanent closure in the state, has come down to around 1,248. When the SC issued its December 2016 order banning the sale of alcohol within 500 metres of national and state highways, 3,178 liquor licenses were facing closure in the state. rLater, in its March 2017 clarification, the apex court had granted relief, due to which the 500-metre distance from highways was reduced to 220 metres for local bodies with 20,000 or less population. rThis prevented the closure of around 1,000 liquor vends in the state, thus bringing down the number of affected licences to 2,178. rMeanwhile, the state government is also working on an action plan to find out which liquor outlets can be saved due to the change in the method of measuring the distance from the highway from “as the crow flies” earlier to “nearest approachable road” now. rThis will provide relief to around 500 alcohol licences in Goa, thus reducing the number of affected licences to 1,678. rIn addition to this, the latest SC observation can also benefit another 430 licences, which means that only 1,248 licences will not get renewed due to the liquor ban order. rThere are approximately 11,000 alcohol licenses in Goa, which include liquor stores, restaurants serving alcohol, hotels having pub and any other liquor serving business. At 1,248 affected licenses, only 11.3% of overall alcohol businesses in the state will get shut due to SC’s order.
