Gurgaon: Over two dozen pubs and bars in Gurgaon’s popular CyberHub will go dry from April 1 as the Supreme Court upheld its ban on liquor outlets on highways.
In its December 15 order, the apex court had barred the sale of liquor within 500 metres of national and state highways.
The court's decision has come as a rude shock to the liquor outlets.
According to a Hindustan Times report, some 143 pubs and bars, including 34 in DLF CyberHub, will be affected as their licenses will not be renewed.
“We have not received the Supreme Court order yet, but we will comply with its orders.
“We have already conducted a survey and submitted the report to the headquarters,” the report quoted Aruna Singh, deputy excise and taxation commissioner, Gurgaon, as saying.
However, some pub/bar owners have claimed that they do not fall within the 500-metre motorable distance.
“We are now working with state departments on identifying the entities which fall under this purview.
“There will be some busy days ahead for sure,” HT quoted Rahul Singh, head of Haryana chapter of National Restaurant Association of India, as saying.
The report further claimed that if these vends are closed, Haryana stands to lose about Rs. 70 crore in revenue earned from these entities.
A number of five-star hotels in Gurgaon also fall within the red zone marked by the Supreme Court, which gave the verdict keeping in mind road accidents owing to drunken driving.
On Friday, the apex court, however, relaxed the ban to 220 metres for towns having less than 20,000 population which fall along the highways.
