Over 300 Delhi govt liquor shops will replace private vends tomorrow

At present, nearly 250 private liquor stores, licensed under Excise Policy 2021-22, are running in the city. The Excise officials stated that the liquor supply will improve from the first week of September as more public vends are opening.

A senior Excise department officer said that this number will further grow in the coming days as 500 liquor shops are planned to open by four Delhi government undertakings.

The Excise department has also developed a mobile application called ‘mAbhkaridelhi’ to provide consumers with information about the location and timings of nearby liquor stores in the national capital. The app will become operational in September.

Several government vends will also be located in malls and near metro stations. The Delhi government undertakings -DTTDC, DSSIDC, DSCSC, and DCCWS – have been given a target to open 700 liquor shops in the city by end of this year, according to the officials.

The New Delhi Municipal Council on 24 August turned down the AAP government’s proposal to open five state-run liquor vends under its jurisdiction. 

New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) member and BJP leader Kuljeet Singh Chahal said DSIIDC and DTTDC have sought permission to open five liquor shops in the civic body’s jurisdiction.

As per the an excise department document, holders of L-6 (government-run shops) license will be bound to sell liquor only at prices fixed by the excise commissioner which will be mentioned on labels of the bottles. It further stated, “any undercharging or overcharging will be considered as a violation of terms and conditions and license will be liable to be cancelled.”

Notably, the liquor vends will be operational from 10 am to 10 pm and will remain closed on all dry days. However, in the Excise Policy 2021-22, the department had reduced the number of dry days from 21 to three.

(With PTI inputs)

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