Delhi Government To Open 500 Liquor Stores By September 1

After reverting to the old excise policy, the Delhi government is likely to operate 500 liquor vends from September 1 in the absence of no private players in the retail sale of alcohol, officials said on Thursday.

Following a meeting on Thursday, a sub-committee of the government has given a report stating that the four undertakings -- Delhi Tourism and Transport Development Corporation (DTTDC), Delhi State Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), Delhi Consumer's Cooperative Wholesale Stores (DCCWS) and Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation (DSCSC) -- will set up these vends by the end of this month.

Another 200 liquor vends will be opened by December 31, the report said.

Of these 700 outlets in total, each of the corporations will run five premium vends to sell high-end brands, it said. Two of these five vends are likely to be opened by the month end and the rest by December 31.

DTTDC will run its stores in zones 1-9, DSIIDC in 10-18, DCCWS in 19-24 and DSCSC in 25-30.

Further, the report said, DTTDC will handle the airport zone, and DSIIDC will manage areas under Delhi Cantonment and New Delhi Municipal Council.

In the current excise policy that will end on August 31, retail licenses were issued to private firms for 32 zones and 849 vends.

The government, that had quit the retail liquor business after implementing Excise Policy 2021-22 on November 17, will get back to running alcohol vends from September 1.

The sub-committee report said while DTTDC and DSIIDC will open 150 liquor vends each by month end, DCCWS and DSCSC will open 100 stores each in the same period.

By December, DTTDC and DSIIDC will each open 60 additional stores, and DCCWS and DSCSC will start 40 fresh outlets each.

In the old excise regime that was in place until November 17 last year, the four corporations totally ran 475 liquor vends.

The report suggested that corporations pay up to 15 percent of the anticipated gross profit towards rent and that the amount may vary depending upon where the vends are located.

The sub-committee was formed on August 3 to identify zones for the opening of vends by each corporation, fixing the number of shops, determining the criteria for fixing rent, opening of vends in malls and government centres and the number of premium vends to be set up.

The sub-committee comprised the labour commissioner and heads of the four corporations.

The corporation representatives said they would ensure that vends are close to non-conforming areas to cover unserved parts of the city, maximise sale of premium brands, and prevent brand pushing and overpricing, the report said.

This report will be submitted to the principal secretary (finance) for consideration and further action, officials said.

A committee to ensure seamless transition to the previous excise regime and to check leakages was constituted under the principal secretary (finance) a few days ago. It also included special secretary (IT), director of women and child development, commissioner (labour) and excise commissioner.

The government has also formed a committee comprising the principal secretary (finance), principal secretary (revenue), excise commissioner and another member having expertise in excise regime to formulate and implement the excise policy. It will submit its report within a month.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)