The West Bengal government has increased the mandatory distance for new retail liquor shops from educational institutions and religious sites to 500 metres in urban and municipal areas and 1 km in other parts of the state, up from the earlier 300 metres, officials said.
Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari had earlier announced that his government would not permit liquor sales within a 1 km radius of schools, colleges, and temples.
The new policy also invokes Section 4P of the Excise Act for setting up new off-shops through bars. No new liquor licenses will be granted within a 1 km radius of religious institutions, schools, and colleges across rural and non-municipal jurisdictions, state Liquor Association Secretary Bijan Patra said on Thursday, according to a recent government notification. For areas under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and other civic jurisdictions, the government has fixed the minimum distance at 500 metres from places of worship and educational institutions, he said. He, however, said if an existing liquor shop wants to ‘shift’ to a mall of any size, Rule 8 regarding distance criteria will not apply.
