Delhi Govt to float fresh tenders for 9 vacated liquor zones

The Delhi government, under the revised excise policy for 2021-22 that came into effect from November last year, revamped the retail sale of liquor to ensure uniform availability across the city and improve the buying experience of customers.

The state government will issue fresh tenders for at least nine of Delhi’s 32 liquor zones this August, once the excise policy for 2022-23 is notified, senior officials said on Wednesday, adding that the city will have to make do with 464 liquor vends for the next three months, just over half of the mandated 849 stores.

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The Delhi government, under the revised excise policy for 2021-22 that came into effect from November last year, revamped the retail sale of liquor to ensure uniform availability across the city and improve the buying experience of customers.

The city was divided into 32 zones with each zone expected to have 27 liquor shops. But seven months into the revamped system, the number of shops fell from 639 in May to 464 as on June 2.

According to excise officials, operators of at least nine zones quit the liquor business over the past month, with lower-than-expected revenues failing to match the fee submitted for the tender during the bidding process as well as the “earnest money” deposited to the state.

As a fallout, apart from reduced access to vends, Delhi is contending with a liquor shortage, with the remaining open stores having to cater to customers from multiple zones.

Residents said premium brands were hard to come by.

“One has to scout two or three shops these days to get a bottle of choice. The problem is compounded if someone is having a party or function and needs to buy larger quantities,” said Achintya Singh, a resident of south Delhi’s Sunlight Colony.

The state cabinet on May 5 approved the 2022-23 Delhi excise policy, which now awaits Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena’s nod.

“There is no option but to re-tender the vacant zones which will be done once the excise policy for 2022-23 is notified, subject to the approval of the LG. The rule that has been proposed in the upcoming policy is that the concessionaire will have to start operating the liquor vends 45 days from the day the L-7Z license is issued. So, new stores will come up by end-September or October,” said a senior excise department official requesting anonymity.

Officials aware of the matter have told HT that for the 2022-23 policy, the base reserve price will be kept at the average of the tendered annual license fee received in 2021-22 except for the Airport Zone. For the 2021-22 policy, the government marked a reserve price of around ₹7,041 crore for all 32 zones. It made about ₹8,917.59 crore through bidding, 26.7% above the reserve price.

A Delhi government official said the state has cleared the 2022-23 excise policy from its side.