Delhi goes dry as liquor policy notification not uploaded

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 1

Delhi endured a dry Monday as the notification for the extension of the liquor policy 2021-22 could not be uploaded till late in the evening.

Sensing an impending shortage of liquor and chaos in several parts of the Capital, a reluctant Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena had approved a month-long extension of the existing Excise Policy 2021-22 in the afternoon.

The Excise Policy 2021-22 expired on July 31, and without the approval of the extension, selling liquor was illegal leading to shuttered liquor stores and closed bars in Delhi during the day while the file for extension made its way from the Delhi government to the LG’s office.

Bars went dry and liquor shops were shuttered all through the day after a run on private liquor shops on Sunday. Hopes of a reprieve later in the day were unfounded as formalities delayed the implementation of the order.

As government stores would take time to open, there were apprehensions of chaos and a sudden loss of revenue. The formal order is to allow them to run till August 30, giving time to state PSUs to negotiate space, deploy staff and arrange stocks.

The policy has already undergone two extensions since March 31 when it should have formally ended.

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