Buying your drink along national highways set to get tougher. Punjab and Haryana have already done it.
Following a Supreme Court directive that liquor shops should not be set up along the national highways (NH) the Highway Ministry has decided to write to various State Governments asking them to shut such liquor shops.
Punjab and Haryana have implemented the decision, after the Supreme Court stood by a decision of the State High Court to shut liquor vends along highways to improve road safety.
In last one month, almost 1,000 liquor vends have shut shop along NH in these two States, according to official sources. From the closed outlets, some 650 liquor vends were located along in highways managed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), while others were located along the NH controlled by the State Public Works Department.
This is not the first the Ministry is writing to the State Governments. Its earlier letter did not evoke any response. But, now it proposes to prod States to act citing the Supreme Court directive.
“Though this is a desirable move from road safety perspective, the road department and excise officials of State Governments do not appear to be on the same page as they get large revenues from liquor sales,” said an official from the Road Ministry.
BY-PASS ROUTE
Meanwhile, Punjab Government, which makes thousands of crores through excise duty on liquor sales, found a respite.
Punjab, while agreeing to shunt out liquor vends from National Highways, has got a “stay for the time being” from the Supreme Court on removing such shops along State Highways. The stance is likely to be followed by Haryana.
“Punjab took a stance that the PIL was mainly filled against the liquor vends on National Highways and not on the State Highways…the High Court has added State Highways on its own whereas it was not the pleading of the Petitioner,” said an official.
This has irked Arrive Safe, a Chandigarh-based NGO which had filed the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in Punjab and Haryana High Court. It has also filed a similar PIL in Rajasthan.
“People driving on NH just need to take a detour to SH to buy liquor and drive back on NH again. The whole purpose of taking up the cause shall get defeated,” said Harman Singh Sidhu, President of Arrive Safe. Almost all the State Highways connect to NH.