New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has directed DDA to come up with a framework within four months to curb the "nuisance associated with consumption of liquor" in and around convenient shopping centres in residential areas.
"... A suitable framework be formulated so as to curb the nuisance associated with consumption of liquor around CSCs (convenient shopping centres) in residential neighbourhood. The same be done preferably within a period of four months ...," a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice R S Endlaw said.
The court also questioned the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on why retail of liquor was not permitted from CSCs when there was no restriction on the kind of commodities and items that could be sold from a shop located in a CSC.
"Not only so, restaurants have been permitted in both, local shopping centre (LSC) and CSC. We have wondered that if a public place as a restaurant is also permitted in the CSC, with again no restriction on alcohol being served therein, then how can it be said that a liquor vend is not permitted," the bench said.
The court was hearing two pleas opposing the running of a liquor vend from a CSC in C Block Market of East of Kailash in south Delhi.
DDA in response to an RTI query, by residents of the area, had said liquor vends were not permitted in CSCs according to the Master Plan of Delhi (MPD) 2021.
The court observed that since both LSCs and CSCs can be situated in the midst of a cluster of houses and can be differentiated only on the basis of area of land on which it is constructed and the population of the area, the problem highlighted in the pleas would persist.
"MPD 2021 appears to be half baked in this respect," it said.
According to MPD-2021, if a shopping centre is built in an area having about 10,000 population then it was a LSC and if 5,000, then CSC, the court noted.
