**Bhubaneswar:** Following the Supreme Court’s verdict banning sale of liquor within 500 meter of the national highway by April 1, Odisha Excise Minister said they would act accordingly, but had earlier taken steps on the revised 50 meter ban and many of such shops have already been shifted while some have obtained stay on it.
Talking to media, Odisha Excise Minister Damodar Rout said, “Earlier orders had been there of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and Supreme Court to shift liquor shops beyond 500 meter of the national highways (NHs). Hence, cases piled up in the court against it. The aggrieved parties argued that shifting would cause problems of non-availability of unobjectionable sites for the shifted shops. The issues of temple and others cropped up. Later, a revised directive was issued from the court that instead of 500 meter, the liquor shops should be shifted to minimum 50 meter away from the NH. Accordingly, we have shifted many such shops. The left-out have obtained stay orders from the court. Notwithstanding that, we’re pursuing the matter every moment.”
“Now as the Supreme Court has revised the order into 500 meter, there is no question of disobeying it. We’ll examine it as do the needful,” he asserted.
On being asked if it would be possible by the April 1 deadline, he replied, “How could I assure as the affected may knock the doors of Supreme Court and obtain a further stay on it.”
BJP MLA Pradeep Purohit alleged, “Odisha’s scenario is very scary. Let’s take the instance of state highway. If one comes from Nuapada to Bargarh, about 100 liquor shops are there all along besides the spurious liquor shops. The State Government is earning revenue by making the tribals drunk and observing Biju Centenary and its other functions from that public money. Such flagrant liquor sale is causing social disorder. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s order, I hope the State Government will now take action accordingly to curb such a menace as well as keep a tab on the spurious liquor sale.”
Notably, the Supreme Court on Thursday banned the sale of liquor within 500 meters on either side of national and state highways across the country.
A bench headed by Chief Justice T.S. Thakur said that all liquor vendors holding licenses for selling liquor would continue to do so till their licenses were valid or till March 31, 2017, whichever was earlier. The licenses would not be renewed.
The order came on a batch of petitions, including those by the States and NGOs.