The Maharashtra Cabinet on Thursday permitted supermarkets and walk-in stores to sell wine manufactured in the state. The decision attracted flak from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saying that the government was promoting liquor.
The decision was taken to give a boost to fruit-based wineries which provide additional income to farmers, Minister for Skill Development Nawab Malik told reporters. A statement from the Chief Minister's Office said "shelf-in-shop" method will be adopted in supermarkets and walk-in-stores which have area of 100 sq mt or more and which are registered under the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments Act.
However, supermarkets which are near places of worship or educational institutions cannot sell wine. Further, wine sale will not be allowed in the districts where prohibition is in force. Supermarkets will have to pay a fee of Rs 5,000 for selling wine.
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The state has around four-dozen wineries, most centred in Nashik district which accounts for 80 percent of the wine produced in India, besides small wineries in other districts like Ahmednagar, Sangli, Pune, Solapur and Buldhana.
The Maharashtra government’s decision came a week after neighbouring Madhya Pradesh permitted liquor sales at all its airports, select supermarkets in four major cities and also allowed issuing home bar licences to those earning Rs 1 crore or more annually.
BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis criticized the decision, saying the government had rolled back prohibition.
"We will not allow Maharashtra to become a Madya-rashtra (`liquor state')," he said. The Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government did not help people during two years of the pandemic but its "priority is promoting the sale of liquor," the former chief minister said.
(With input from agencies)
(Edited by : Priyanka Deshpande)
First Published: Jan 27, 2022 9:22 PM IST
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