60 Hisar villages say no to liquor vends

HISAR: The panchayats of 60 villages in Hisar district have put in their applications at the excise department to join the alcohol prohibition scheme. However, it is not yet clear whether the application is valid according to rules. The list of these villages will be sent to the headquarters by January 15 after investigation. Last time around, 20 villages from the district had also requested for prohibition.
Haryana government introduced the Haryana Panchayati Raj (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019, in the House last year to remove liquor contracts from villages, which was passed unanimously. After the passage of the Bill, the power to close liquor contracts in villages came to the gram sabhas, with the consent of 10% citizens.
According to DC of taxation, Vijay Kaushik, till December 31, he has received applications for liquor ban from around 60 villages, which are under scrutiny at the moment. He said according to the scheme, the proposal has to be passed by 10% villagers and it will be investigated whether signatures have been faked.