PANJIM: The State Core
Committee, formed to oversee the data collection
of the liquor outlets falling within 500 mts of the state and national
highways, will hold its fortnightly meeting on Wednesday.
The committee headed by
Excise Commissioner Menino D’Souza will meet over the details gathered by the
taluka-level teams, six days before submitting its final survey report to the
government. “The core committee meets every fortnight (after the order of the
Supreme Court banning liquor sale on highways) to monitor the situation and get
updates of the ongoing survey,” the commissioner told Herald.
The teams formed under the
core committee are almost complete with their task of identifying the liquor
outlets including bars & restaurants located within 500 mtrs of the Natonal
and State highways in their respective jurisdictions. Each team comprises of
officials from the Office of Mamlatdar, Excise, Public Works Department,
National Highway Authority of India, Directorate of Panchayats/Directorate of
Municipal Administration, and Directorate of Settlements and Land Records among
other related agencies. Once the report is complete, the excise department will
begin issuing show cause notices to the owners in order to conduct fast track
hearings with deadline to comply with the SC order set on April 1.
Meanwhile, the State
government has begun implementing removal of signages and advertisements
indicating location of liquor outlets. The Directorate of Municipal
Administration and Directorate of Panchayats through their respective local
bodies are issuing directions to all the concerned to remove the signages and
advertisement in compliance to SC directives.
