Though the Supreme Court of India have ordered the signage, hoardings and advertisements installed at the entrances to the liquor stores located on all state and national highways to be removed by the police and Excise Department has not been executed upon yet.
Harman Singh Sidhu, President of the Chandigarh-based NGO ArriveSAFE who has fought for many years for removal of liquor vends from the national and state highways across Punjab and Haryana has alleged that nothing has been done to execute the order and blames that Excise Department officials are dragging their feet to implement the order and also that they have joined hands with the liquor shop owners and finding excuses not to remove the signage.
According to the order, signage and advertisements of the availability of liquor shall be prohibited and the existing ones removed forthwith both on national and state highways and also instruct Chief Secretaries and Directors of General of Police to chalk out the necessary plan along with required reinforcements to carry out the task. The state revenue and home departments have also been ordered to get involved in this to assess various consequences of removing these signage and find solutions for the same.
Responsibility shall be assigned inter alia to district collectors and superintendents of police and other competent authorities.
Sidhu also expressed his grievances on the way various states and Union Territories have acted upon SC’s order to cease and desist from granting licenses for the sale of liquor along national and state highways. He believes nothing has been and no one is taking the order seriously.
