Maharashtra govt puts one big condition on new liquor shop licences in the state
Deputy Chief Minister
Ajit Pawar
on Sunday said that the government has made a rule that no licences for liquor shops will be given without taking the legislature into confidence.
Earlier in the day, NCP (SP) legislator Jitendra Awhad claimed that the BJP-led Mahayuti government was planning to issue 328 new
liquor shop licences
to tide over "financial distress". He said this would drive the state, which is a land of saints, into alcoholism.
Talking to media persons in Pune, Pawar said rules are diligently followed in Maharashtra as far as liquor licences are concerned. "We have made a rule that if licences for liquor shops in the state are to be granted, it should not be done without taking the legislature into confidence," said Pawar.
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In other states, the number of liquor shop licences is increasing, but Maharashtra follows rules and acts in this matter systematically, he said.
"Our approach is different. If a shop is to be relocated, we give permission only as per the rules, and everything happens accordingly. There's a committee that makes every such decision. If women at some places raise objections, we shut down the liquor shops," said the deputy CM.
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The government will take action if allegations concerning liquor shops are found to be true, he asserted.
Addressing a press conference earlier in the day, NCP (SP) leader Awhad said that Maharashtra's liquor policy would drive the state, which is a land of saints, into alcoholism and cause distress to lakhs of families.
He claimed that the BJP-led Mahayuti government was planning to issue licences for 328 new liquor shops across the state to "cope with the financial burden of schemes like Ladki Bahin Yojana (under which eligible women receive monthly aid of Rs 1500)".
"This liquor-driven policy to fill an empty treasury is a betrayal of families. To pay the Ladki Bahin (beloved sister), this government will cheat brothers, husbands and fathers. The Devendra Fadnavis government will go down in history for selling alcohol licences instead of preserving public health," he asserted.
The state of saints like Dnyaneshwar, Tukaram, Tukadoji Maharaj and Gadge Baba is being reduced to a marketplace of wine and whisky, the MLA from the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (SP) claimed.
"Today, licences that were cancelled 50 years ago are being sold at Rs 1 crore, when the same are worth Rs 15 crore. I have a list of 47 directors of firms who are making the rounds of Mantralaya (for these licences). These are the people benefiting from this corrupt system," he alleged.
This government does not care if water is available in every household but there must be full supply of alcohol, he said.
"If this is their vision and model of governance, then sell the Gateway of India as well for money. When the state government tried something similar in 1974, stalwarts like Mrinaltai Gorhe, Ahilyabai Rangnekar, and Madhu Dandavate led an uprising that forced a rollback. Fifty years later, this government is testing the same fire again," Awhad said.
He urged citizens of the state, especially women, to come out on the streets to oppose the state government's liquor policy.
He cited the alleged sale of liquor in prohibited areas in the Yeoor stretch in Thane of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, adding that excise officials were hand in glove in this racket.
Incidentally, on July 8, Ajit Pawar, who holds the finance and state excise portfolios, had informed the assembly that no new liquor licences have been granted in the state since 1972 though transfers of existing licences from one location to another are permitted following due procedure.
He also told the assembly there was no legal provision under existing rules that allowed municipal corporations to pass resolutions revoking liquor licences within their jurisdiction.
Pawar was responding to a calling attention notice given by Panvel BJP MLA Prashant Thakur regarding the cancellation of liquor licences in Kharghar and declaring it an alcohol-free zone.
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