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Sukhmeet Bhasin
Tribune News Service
Bathinda, March 27
With the new policy of the Excise Department coming into effect from April 1 for 2017-18, the department is set to lose Rs 36 crore revenue in the district as 51 liquor vends will be closed from the beginning of the next month.
This year, the liquor vends will be allotted through the lottery system, which will be held on March 29.
Most of the liquor vends, which will be closed are on highways. The decision has been taken after the Supreme Court order has banned the opening of liquor vends on the highways.
The number of liquor vends in the district will come down to 462 from 513.
Even the quota of beer and liquor has also been reduced for 2017-18 to 78,74,729 proof litre against the 93,08,728 proof litre in 2016-17.
The Excise Department has divided 462 liquor vends in seven zones.
The first is the railway station zone, which has 21 country-made liquor vends and 16 vends of imported liquor.
The second is the Amrik Singh road zone that has 16 country-made and 14 imported liquor vends.
The third is the Power House road zone, which has 24 country-made and 19 imported liquor vends.
From these three liquor zones, the department has fixed a target of Rs 84.21 crore as revenue.
The Rampura zone has 38 country-made liquor vends and 12 imported liquor vends.
The Goniana zone has 68 country-made and 12 imported liquor vends.
In Bucho zone, there are 86 country-made and 18 imported liquor vends.
The Sangat zone has 102 country-made and 16 imported liquor vends.
The Excise Department has set a target of Rs 100 crore as revenue from these four zones.
Earlier, there were three zones in the district but this year, it is divided into seven zones.
An official of the department said, “We have not received any application yet regarding the allotment of liquor vends in the district so far.”
He said along with the liquor vends, the revenue will also drop this time.
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