The Haryana Excise Department has started the process of measuring the motorable distance of 500 metres for pubs, bars and hotels close to national and State highways situated in both East and West zones of Gurugram.
The move comes in the wake of the order of the Supreme Court banning serving and sale of liquor near national and State highways with effect from April 1.
The department had used ‘motorable distance’ as the benchmark to decide a bar’s distance from the highway.
Around 40 establishments including Cyber Hub, the leela, Trident, Oberoi and Westin were measured by the department. A team of the Excise Department, District Town Planning (DTP) team, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Hardeep Singh and other representatives of the Government departments were present during the mapping which started around 7 am on Tuesday.
“40 establishments have been measured to check the motorable distance. We had measured these outlets earlier too and the owners had claimed that their outlets were more than 500 metres from highways,” HC Dahiya, Excise Commissioner, West Gurugram, said.
“We have measured their distance, and which of these outlets were beyond the 500 metre mark or within the restricted zone, will be clear after a report which we will submit to the administration,” he added.
The department’s decision to measure ‘motorable distance’ will give several outlets a breather, particularly 35 bars and restaurants with liquor licences in Cyber Hub, as will most of Sector 29 and some prominent hotels.
Speaking on the ‘motorable distance’ DC Gurugram Hardeep Singh said, “We have measured the motorable distance because the court has stated that motorable distance can be measured.
“Some of the leading hotels have changed their entrances and for this, they will have to submit their request plan or map to the administration and to the District Town Planning department. In case a new direction is issued, then all the owners will have to seek permission from the administration,” he added.
The DC added that a DTP team will initiate action against the outlet owners who have changed their entry and exit points to avoid the 500 metre cap.
“During mapping, we found that some of the establishments have illegally changed their entry and exit locations,” the DC added.