Delhi govt to open liquor vends at IGI airport by July

The Delhi government is expected to open liquor vends at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport for domestic flyers. This comes two years after the scrapping of the excise policy 2021-22 that led to the shutting down of liquor vends at the airport.

According to sources that told news agency PTI,  Delhi government's agency DCCWS (Delhi Consumers' Cooperative Wholesale Store Limited) is going to open its liquor shop at T3 terminal's arrival section by July. Another store is expected to come up at T1 terminal’s departure area later.

The excise policy – investigation and cases on which is still undergoing – was scrapped by the Kejriwal government after Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena recommended a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in its formulation and implementation in 2022.

The liquor sale was handed over to four agencies of the Delhi government from the earlier private parties that handled the sale.

The government agencies had tried to open liquor vends earlier too but were unable to do so due to the high rental prices, the sources said.

The domestic terminals of the airport had six premium liquor stores, operated by private players before the excise policy 2021-22 was scrapped.