NEW DELHI, Aug 12:
Over 530 liquor shops in the city will come under CCTV camera surveillance by this year end as part of Delhi government’s initiative to prevent people from drinking in and around such vends and check rowdiness.
In the first phase, CCTV cameras are being installed in 225 vends run by DSIIDC and the work is likely to be completed by next month.
Officials said the cameras will have to cover at least 50-metre area on all sides of the liquor shop. The cameras inside the vends will have to capture daily activities.
“Often people drink in and around the liquor shops which is an offence. We witness ugly scene around liquor shops also. The CCTV surveillance is being put into place to ensure a better environment in and around liquor shops,” said a senior official of Excise department.
The Delhi Excise Act, which came into effect in October 2010 replacing the Punjab Excise Act 1914, provides for a fine of Rs 5,000 for consuming alcohol at public place and a fine of up to Rs 10,000 with a three-month jail term if the offender creates public nuisance.
The city has 532 liquor shops out of which 450 are being run by Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) and Delhi Consumers Cooperative Wholesale Store (DCCWS).
The Government may even go for setting up an integrated control room to centrally monitor the CCTV footages.Giving an account of revenue collection, a senior excise official said the department has set a target of Rs 2,750 crore to be collected as excise tax in 2012-13 against previous year’s collection of Rs 2,027 crore.
The department has already collected Rs 918 crore between April 1 and July 8 from sale of liquor. (PTI)
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