Supreme Court's ban on liquor sale along highways to impact Gurugram's DLF CyberHub

At least 34 pubs and bars in the swanky DLF CyberHub in Gurugram could be forced to stop selling liquor, thanks to the Supreme Court's order that sale of liquor must not be allowed within 500 metres of national and state highways. 

Also read: Madhya Pradesh plans alcohol-free state; stringent measures to come into force this year

The order will be in place from April 1, 2017. It will also affect liquor vendors for  they will lose their licenses on the same day. The excise department has identified at least 109 pubs and 43 liquor vendors who will be affected by the move. Closure of the liquor stalls will reportedly lead to a loss of Rs 70.81 crore in revenue per year. 

Haryana is not the only state to be affected by the Supreme Court order. In Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, as many as 175 liquor stalls along the highways will be losing their licenses from April 1. In Madhya Pradesh, too, 1,427 shops will be affected all over the state. 

The ruling, however, doesn't specify if only the liquor vendors will be barred from selling along the highways affecting restaurants and five star hotels. 

In Gurugram, there are several five-star hotels and resorts that could lose businesses for falling in the red zone. 

"Restaurants are being targetted unjustifiably. A restaurant is the safest place for an individual to drink and at least more than three-and-a-half lakh employees face the risk of losing jobs," Arvind Kumar, general manager, The Wine Company told the Hindustan Times. 

"Due to a lack of description in the ruling, all food and beverages outlets have come under the scanner. Let's hope that the Supreme Court will explain this and give us a realistic guideline of the ruling," Goumtesh Singh, owner, Raasta Cafe, told the newspaper. 

The apex court on December 15 directed the states and Union Territories to put a stop to liquor sale within 500 metres of highways and service lanes along them. The states were given a month to enforce the plan. 

In Haryana, apart from the DLF CyberHub hotels and restaurants, there are pubs and bars in Sector 29 market area and some on Sohna Road that have also been identified. 

"We will comply with the orders of the Supreme Court. We have conducted a survey and will shortly submit the report to the headquarters," said Aruna Singh, deputy excise and taxation commissioner, Gurgaon.

The Supreme Court had given the directive to prevent India from becoming the "accident capital of the world". In its December ruling, a three-judge bench headed by the then chief justice TS Thakur said: "Human life is precious. As the road network expands in India, road infrastructure being an integral part of economic development, accidents profoundly impact the life of common citizen. For a nation on the cusp of economic development, India can well avoid the tag of being the accident capital of the world."