Liquor shops near religious places in Uttarakhand to be shut down under new policy

Dehradun: The Uttarakhand government has approved a new excise policy for 2025-26 under which all liquor shops located near religious places in the state will be shut down.

Officials said licences granted earlier to liquor shops will be reviewed in the light of the new excise policy. The state cabinet approved the new excise policy at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday.

It has been decided to cancel the liquor licences of shops near religious places and exercise more control on the sale of liquor, according paramount importance to public sensitivities, Secretary (home) Shailesh Bagauli said.

The new policy makes the process for allotment of liquor shops more transparent and beneficial for local people by giving them self-employment opportunities in the sector, he said.

An effort has also been made in the new policy to provide local farmers with an additional platform to sell their produce to the distilleries.

Sub-shops and metro liquor sales system have been abolished in the new excise policy which also makes a provision for cancelling the licences of liquor shops that sell liquor at a price higher than the Maximum Retail Price.

MRP will also be applicable in departmental stores, which will protect the interests of consumers, he said.

The revenue target for the excise department for 2025-26 has been raised to Rs 5060 crore considering the significant increase in the revenue generated by the department over the last two years, Bagauli said.

In the financial year 2023-24, a revenue of Rs 4038.69 crore was earned against the target of Rs 4000 crore. In the financial year 2024-25, about Rs 4000 crore has been received so far against the target of Rs 4439 crore, he said.

Bulk liquor licences will be issued only to Uttarakhand residents, which will increase economic opportunities for locals in the state.

To encourage wineries in hilly areas, winery units will be exempted from excise duty for the next 15 years from fruits produced in the state.

This will provide economic benefits to farmers and those working in the horticulture sector, the official said.

Export duty has been reduced to encourage investment in the liquor industry.

Malt and spirit industries will be provided special facilities in hilly areas.

The new excise policy also encourages the use of local agricultural products by distilleries. This will increase the income of farmers and provide them new markets.

Under the new excise policy, shops will be allotted through transparent processes like renewal, lottery and maximum offer.

In the Excise Policy-2025, a provision has also been made to run special campaigns to make the general public aware of the ill effects of alcohol.