Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
Credit: PTI Photo
Ahmedabad: In an apparent bid to attract national and international firms to Gujarat government's ambitious GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) in Gandhinagar, the state government on Friday announced easing of its stringent liquor laws.
The Bhupendra Patel-led BJP government announced relaxation in liquor prohibition laws for establishing "wine and dine" facilities at GIFT City area for creating a "global business ecosystem" for investors, technical experts, national and international firms.
GIFT City is hailed as India's first greenfield smart city and International Financial Services Centre or IFSC being developed in the line of Singapore and Dubai.
In a press note, the government said that employees and their owners at GIFT city will be given liquor access permits who can consume alcohol at hotels/restaurants/clubs offering “Wine and Dine” in GIFT City.
Also, the state government has allowed authorised visitors of each company to consume liquor in such places with temporary permits in the presence of permanent employees of the company.
According to the notification, "hotels/restaurants/clubs located or coming to GIFT City can obtain a wine and dine facility which is FL3 license." It said that employees and visitors can consume liquor in such hotels or restaurants but can't buy liquor bottles from there.
Since its formation in 1960, Gujarat has been practicing complete liquor prohibition. In 2017, the state government made the liquor law more stringent with punishment of up to 10 years for manufacturing, purchasing, selling or transporting liquor along with a fine of Rs 5 lakh. Earlier, the punishment was for three years.
While the laws became stringent for the locals, the state government has been relaxing the law for outsiders in order to promote tourism and business since 2006. Currently, a visitor, barring from dry states, can obtain liquor permits from authorised liquor stores on the basis of his or her travel tickets.
A domicile Gujarati can get liquor permit only on health grounds, provided he or she is above 40.
Ahmedabad police commissioner on Friday announced that a policeman will be rewarded Rs 200 for every FIR he lodges related to drunk driving. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the police said that if anyone is found driving under the influence of alcohol, an FIR will be filed and a reward of Rs 200 will be given to the policeman who files such a case.