The Maharashtra government led by Uddhav Thackeray has allowed hotels and restaurants that hold the FL-III licence to sell their stock of alcohol for off-premises consumption. However, the exemption does not apply to Mumbai where the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has prohibited the sale of alcohol and other areas in the state where local authorities have restricted liquor sales.
On consent from the license in form FL/BRII, the FL-III license holder may sell his remainder of beer stock as a one-time measure to the relevant FL/BR-II license holder on a special transport pass. Besides taking precautions for the sale of pre-existing stock, the license holder is to not procure fresh liquor till the extended lockdown period lasts.
Earlier, videos of people being queued up outside alcohol shops in the past, not abiding by social distancing norms, created a huge ruckus which forced the government to close the alcohol shops. In order to avoid such public gatherings, the government launched a new e-token system. Under this system, the government will let people register and collect an e-token to purchase liquor from a nearby liquor shop. All the liquor shops will have to follow this system and will not be allowed to sell alcohol to a person coming without a valid token. Also, a particular number of tokens will be issued to avoid overcrowding outside the shops.
The people of Maharashtra will have to register online to get an e-token. The token will have an allotted time slot for them to purchase liquor. The token will also include the address of a specific shop where they can buy liquor. If the time range on the e-token expires then the holder will not be able to get alcohol from the shop. This can further ensure than social distancing is maintained in the middle of the highly contagious coronavirus.
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