BHUBANESWAR:Bhubaneswar excise range will have two stations under the Odisha Excise Act, 2008 soon. The charge-I and II of the range will be upgraded to excise stations.
While one station will function in the Bhubaneswar range excise office, another will run from a different location. Each excise station will have one inspector, one sub-inspector, two assistant sub-inspectors, one woman constable and two other personnel.
The excise stations will have to maintain a station diary as done by the police stations here. The Odisha Excise Act, 2008 and Odisha Excise Rules, 2017 came into force on April 1, 2017.
Bhubaneswar Excise Inspector Debi Prasad Das said a new notification regarding the role of the Commissionerate Police in dealing with excise cases is also expected to come within 10 days.
Sources said excise officials were on tenterhooks as the Commissionerate Police was not given any direct excise enforcement authority under the Act.
According to the Act, the Commissionerate Police officials are barred from making arrests and seizures in excise cases. But with the new notification, which is expected to come soon, the Twin City police will be able to take up the excise cases.
Das said they have been working according to Odisha Excise Rules, 2017 which states liquor on-shops in urban areas can not operate within 300 metres of temples, petrol pumps, bus stops and within 500 metres of the educational institutions.
However, couple of existing liquor on-shops, which are short of meeting the criteria, will most likely escape the brunt.Excise officials said they are receiving the new applications for liquor on-shops according to Odisha Excise Rules, 2017, but no action will be taken against the existing on-shops which are not meeting the criteria.