NEW DELHI: The Delhi government on Monday decided to impose a 70 per cent ‘special corona fee’ on liquor sale in the national capital from Tuesday. “Seventy per cent ‘Special Corona Fee’ has been imposed on the MRP of liquor bottles. The new rate will be applicable from Tuesday,” a source said.
The sale at state-run liquor shops on Monday was around two to three times more than normal days, officials said. In 2018-19, excise collected VAT to the amount of Rs 3,616 crore through sale of liquor.
Earlier in the day, CM Arvind Kejriwal said that his government will revoke the lockdown relaxations if social distancing norms are not followed.
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The announcement came amid reports of people flouting social distancing norms at liquor shops in many areas in the national capital which were re-opened on Monday as authorities allowed all activities permitted by the central government. “We complied with the guidelines of Central government regarding the relaxations on the lockdown, but it was unfortunate to see that people did not follow social distancing in front of shops at a few locations across the city. Overcrowding and chaos were reported,” the CM said.
“What needs to be realised is that there is a risk of contraction that comes with such actions. This puts families at high risk. If needed, we will have to take stringent decisions like sealing areas where social distancing protocol is not followed,” he added.
The chief minister further said that the decision has been taken with the view to restart the economy to generate revenue for government.“How long will we be under lockdown? We cannot live under lockdown forever. We will have to start all activities gradually. It is not like a shop is going to close down after remaining open for an hour I request you (people) to not put your life in danger,” he added.