Around one-third of the bar owners in the Millennium City have sought the renewal of the licences since the government decided to grant permission to serve them liquor to the guests starting from this month. Cyber Hub has been hit hard with uncertainty over the opening of the offices in its surroundings.
Of the 91 bars and hotels in the West Zone of the Gurugram Excise Department, including the Cyber Hub, only 35 have applied for the renewal of licences since September 1. The department has so far issued licences to 22 of them. Similarly, the East Zone, comprising Sector 29 commercial area and Golf Course Road, has received 66 applications for renewal and 29 of these have been approved. The East Zone has 196 bars and hotels.
Eight and 12 bars in West and East Zones respectively had already surrendered their licences before September 1.
The hotels with ratings of three stars and above were allowed to serve liquor in rooms through an order on July 16 and their licences were renewed, but were kept inoperative. The figures for the issuance of the licences include these hotels as well.
Sources in the excise department said the bar owners in the Cyber Hub were reluctant to open their outlets since the managements of most of the corporate offices in Cyber City area had informally conveyed to their employees that they might need to work from home this entire year. Since the Cyber Hub mostly caters to the office-goers, the bar owners are, therefore, yet to make up their mind to seek renewal of licence.
In some cases, the bar owners also have dispute with the landlords over rentals. A few of the landlords have been seeking rent even for the lockdown and not willing to reduce the rent making it financially unviable for the bar owners. Besides, the bar owners, in a few cases, need time to call back their staff and prepare premises for the guests before they apply for the renewal.
Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner (Excise, West) Anirudh Sharma told The Hindu that the government had not fixed any deadline for the renewal of the licences keeping in view the unprecedented situation and it’s approach was pro-business.