Gurgaon breaks record in drinking and it’s all legal

GURGAON: When it comes to liquor consumption, Gurgaon tops among all districts in Haryana. But the district also has the lowest number of cases of smuggling and illegal sale of liquor. In 2011-12, only 13 such cases were registered whereas in several other districts these cases were much more in number. A senior excise and taxation department official said that a total of 3,411 cases of smuggling and illegal sale of liquor were registered throughout the state during the current financial year, up to September 2011.The department imposed Rs 2.91 crore as penalty and out of it Rs 1.53 crore has already been recovered. Excise and taxation minister Kiran Choudhary said she has directed the officials to constitute inter-district teams to keep a check on smuggling and illegal sale of liquor. She also directed them to ensure regular inspection especially in National Capital Region (NCR) and the areas adjoining Haryana’s border.
"The situation is better in Gurgaon since people living in cities are opting for quality products. The sale of Indian Manufactured Foreign Liquor (IMFL) is more here in comparison to other districts. It’s a good sign that there are less cases of illegal liquor reaching the city," said a senior excise department official. On Wednesday, Kiran Chaudhry said her office had been receiving complaints of the connivance of department employees with the retailers. "However, some cases have also come to the surface in which the wholesalers have charged more rates from the retailers than the rates fixed by the department," she said. Citing such a case in Faridabad, she said that a retailer had directly lodged a complaint to her and an investigation has been ordered.