After Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh has reportedly denotified 16 state highways and have declared them as roads to circumvent Supreme Court’s order of banning alcohol on the state and national highways. The supreme court had further affirmed that no liquor vendors and pubs within the 500 metres radius of national and state highways will be allowed to sell liquor.
It was earlier reported that the Rajasthan government was figuring out ways and methods so they circumvent the Supreme court’s order considering that the order was causing a massive loss in the business. A number of people are also losing out on their jobs due to the directive.
However, some of the reports also suggested that some states including Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Meghalaya were exempt from the order. Not only Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, Punjab government has also went on to denotify 12 highways to bypass Sc’s order. The Punjab government announced that highways passing through the cities need be called state highways henceforth.
Meanwhile, some of the states are making efforts to negotiate with the central government. Kerala has asked for some time before they can implement the apex court’s order. The central government further affirmed that they were also trying to find solutions to the issue. The transport and highways ministry officials confirmed that they were receiving a number of requests from various states to designate some highways as district roads since the Supreme Court passed its order. Goa Chief minister Manohar Parrikar had earlier said that they had also moved the supreme court to seek a clarification on the court’s order.
