Puri: As many as five foreign liquor shops have come up near ‘Swargadwar’ along the stretch from Chaitanya Chowk to Satalahadi Mutt in Puri. Local residents have opposed their opening, alleging the process of land verification is still underway.
Of the five shops, three are alleged to be running from shops constructed on Lord Jagannath’s Amruta Manohi land.
According to government rules, if a person who has the required license to open a liquor shop wants to start his business, he has to deposit the documents of the land on which his shop stands with the Excise Department. The Excise Department then forwards it to the Revenue Department. Then an inspection of the land is carried out. Permission to run the business is given only when the inspection doesn’t come across any issues relating to the land document.
It is being alleged that this process has been sidelined in Puri. The five shops are operating even as the verification of land documents has not been completed. RTI activist Dillip Kumar Baral alleged that there is a possibility that some officials of the Excise Department, acting on behalf of the shop owners, will get the necessary permission from the Revenue Department by bribing some officials.
When contacted, Puri tehsildar Rabindra Pradhan said, “The verification process of land documents of 18 foreign liquor shops is underway. If the land is entangled in any controversies, or encroached upon or has issues with respect to its owner, they will come to light during the inspection. Regarding the lands, nothing can be said about their status before completion of the verification.”
Pradhan added that the present situation arises because the process for opening a liquor shop is being tweaked.
Reacting to the development, Excise Department superintendent Amarendra Kumar Jena said, “It is not our prerogative to solve any controversy surrounding the liquor shops lands. The Revenue Department is doing the verification of the land documents. During verification, if any dispute relating to the land is discovered, the shop owners will be asked to open their shops at other locations.”
Meanwhile, protesting against the opening of liquor shops near ‘Swargadwar’, several social organisations have submitted memorandums to the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration and the Collector. But nothing has come off it so far.
PNN
