Need special Delhi Assembly session on new excise policy: Councillor

Councillor Abhishek Dutt’s main demand was that liquor shops should not be opened in residential areas, which, he said, is currently happening under the new excise regime, resulting in protests from residents

A day after the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) ordered an inspection of all new liquor vends opening in south Delhi to ensure their compliance with municipal norms, Abhishek Dutt, councillor from Andrewsganj and leader of the Congress councillor group in SDMC, wrote to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking a special session of the Delhi Assembly to amend the Delhi excise policy, 2021-22.

Delhi government has exited the retail liquor business with the new excise regime kicking in from November 17. According to this policy, the liquor business is now being handled completely by private players. (HT Archive)

“As per NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) data, around seven women get raped in Delhi every day. Crime rate in Delhi will increase because of these liquor shops and incidents of rape will also rise. Along with this, it will also ruin the lives of the youth who could get addicted to alcohol. Hence, I request you to call a special session of the Delhi Assembly and initiate a discussion on the new excise policy by way of a private bill,” Dutt wrote in his letter to Kejriwal.

His main demand was that liquor shops should not be opened in residential areas, which, he said, is currently happening under the new excise regime, resulting in protests from residents.

A resolution to survey and verify norm compliance was passed by the general body meeting of the civic body on Thursday. Dutt had moved the private member resolution on the day.

Mukesh Suryan, the mayor of the south MCD, said on Sunday that a survey of all the liquor vends will be initiated soon and the units violating norms will be sealed.

The norms include payment of conversion charges and old property tax returns, completion certificates, building by-laws and licensing norms.

Delhi government has exited the retail liquor business with the new excise regime kicking in from November 17. According to this policy, the liquor business is now being handled completely by private players.