Over 850 panchayats in Hry say no to liquor vends in their villages

More than 850 village panchayats in Haryana have passed a resolution against the opening of liquor vends in their villages in the next fiscal, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said here on Friday.

"As many as 872 gram sabhas have passed resolutions against opening liquor vends in their villages, which comes to nearly 13 per cent of total villages," he said addressing a news conference here to mark completion of 100 days of the BJP-JJP alliance government in the state.

In November 2019, the Haryana Assembly had passed a bill which allows a Gram Sabha to pass a resolution banning opening of liquor vends within the local area of a Gram Panchayat if 10 per cent population is against setting up of such stores.

The new law will be effective from April 1, 2020.

Of the 22 districts in Haryana, the state excise and taxation department has received the highest number of more than 120 resolutions from Rohtak district.

In its assembly election manifesto the Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) had promised that no liquor vends would be allowed in villages.

The JJP had forged a post-poll alliance with the BJP to form the government in Haryana last year after the saffron party could muster 40 seats out of the total 90. JJP had bagged 10 seats.