22 liquor shops within 100m of highways to be removed in Indore

At least 22 liquor shops within 100 meters of the state and national highways in Indore district will have to be removed under the provisions of the new excise policy. There are 167 liquor shops in Indore.

At least 22 liquor shops within 100 meters of the state and national highways in the district will have to be removed under the provisions of the new excise policy.

There are 167 liquor shops in Indore.

To find a way around this policy, the excise department has put forward a proposal before the state government asking it to pass an act whereby all national and state highways that come within city limits should be denotifed as highways.

Under the new excise policy, which will come into effect from April 1, 2015, all liquor shops will now be situated 100 meters away from the middle of the highway and the entrance of the liquor shop will not open towards the highway.

Subsequently, a state-level survey was carried out to determine the number of shops that fall in this category.

The change in excise policy comes in the wake of a decision by the Jabalpur bench of the high court (7369/2014) on a public interest petition in this regard, in which the chief secretary gave an undertaking before the high court assuring compliance that no shops would be opened in the next financial year.

"Shifting liquor shops has become a tough task as invariably there is opposition, not only from women's groups but also from vested interests in the area," an excise official said.

Excise officials said compared to other districts the condition in Indore is much better.