Govt lists 2,767 liquor outlets for closure on highways after SC order

 A total of 2,767 liquor shops located alongside national and state highways have been identified by the Karnataka government for closure or relocation.

These shops are located within 500 metres of national and state highways and have time till June 30 to close or relocate as their excise licence ends on that day in Karnataka.

The outlets identified by the state government for closure are liquor shops with CL-2 licence (retail shops with licences for vending liquor but not serving liquor on the premises) and do not include pubs, restaurants and hotels. With the Supreme Court clarifying that the ban also extends to pubs, restaurants and hotels, the government will have to draw a list of these places located within 500 metres from state or national highways, excise department officials said.

The state government will also revise the list to suit Friday’s Supreme Court order modifying the 500-metre cap rule to 220 metres in areas which are along highways with a population of up to 20,000, excise department officials said. However, there may not be much of a change as most of the liquor shops in the state are located along highways with high population density, the officials added.

The excise licence to most of the liquor shops along highways were issued prior to December 15 last year and they will remain operational till June 30, officials pointed out.   

Of the 2,767 liquor shops, as many as 257 are the government-owned Mysore Sales International Ltd outlets. The excise department has already issued notices to the shops asking them to close down or relocate, the officials said.

Bengaluru city has the maximum number of liquor shops (286) which will have to be closed down or relocated, followed by Belagavi (222) and Tumakuru (158).