Chandigarh:-The Punjab government has ordered all Deputy Commissioners and police superintendents to take strict actions agiainst bootleggers and rid the state of the menace.
“In order to uproot the menace of bootlegging and illegal sale of liquor, clear directions have been given to the DCs and Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) to curb the illegal sale of liquor,” an official spokesman said.
Only legal transfer of liquor will be allowed and strict action will be taken against bootleggers who indulge in illegal transfers from one area to another, he said.
Fair competition in the trade will be ensured and licensees will be able to trade without any fears and pressures.
In line with its promise of discouraging liquor consumption in poll manifesto, Amarinder Singh led Congress government has already announced to brought down the number of liquor vends and slashed the liquor quota in its new excise policy for 2017-18.
The quota of PML and IMFL has been significantly reduced by 14 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively.
In addition to these reforms, the group sizes have been increased. With the increase in group sizes, the number of groups has significantly come down to 148 as compared to 626 in the previous year.
“Decrease in the number of groups will ensure fair competition and will eliminate the problems of under cutting and bulk sales,” he said.
Further, decrease in the number of groups will also help in mitigating the effect of closure of liquor vends within 500 meters area on National and State Highways.
About 550 liquor vends will close down with the implementation of the Supreme Court order, which had directed closure of liquor vends within 500 mt area on national and state highways.
The quota of country liquor has been reduced by 14 per cent from 10.10 crore proof litres to 8.70 crore proof litres.
Similarly, the quota of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) has been reduced by 20 per cent from 4.73 crore proof litres to 3.80 crore proof litres.
Punjab is targeting total revenue of Rs 5,440 crore from liquor during 2017-18.
The number of liquor vends in the state will be reduced to 5,900 from 6,384 at present, an official said.
In another step towards ensuring transparency in liquor trade in the state, Punjab government has also abolished the L-1A license, which had been introduced by the previous Akali-BJP government.
PTI
