Chandigarh struggles to auction liquor vends, ninth auction today

The previous auction was a flop show and in the seventh auction, only three vends out of 25 could go under the hammer and this was despite the UT slashing the reserve price by 25 per cent, said an official.

Chandigarh has been struggling to auction its liquor vends. (File Representational Photo)

Listen to this article

00:00

1x 1.5x 1.8x

Chandigarh has been struggling to auction its liquor vends. For the first time, the Union Territory administration is holding the ninth auction Monday. As many as 22 liquor vends still remain unsold.

The previous auction was a flop show and in the seventh auction, only three vends out of 25 could go under the hammer and this was despite the UT slashing the reserve price by 25 per cent, said an official.

Also Read | Why is Chandigarh struggling to sell its liquor vends

The details of Monday’s auction would be out by evening.

Story continues below this ad

For 2023-24, the authorities have fixed a revenue target of Rs 830 crore from the licence fee of liquor vends. However, the administration has so far earned only Rs 400 crore.

A senior official of the Chandigarh administration said “they are hoping for a better response today and will continue auctioning till all the liquor vends are sold.”

“In fact, it is due to Punjab’s negligible value-added tax on liquor that not many people are coming forward for the Chandigarh auction this time,” he added.

Hina Rohtaki

Hina Rohtaki is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express, Chandigarh. She covers Chandigarh administration and other cross beats. In this field for over a decade now, she has also received the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award by the President of India in January 2020. She tweets @HinaRohtaki ... Read More

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram