On Monday, the Chandigarh administration sealed eight liquor shops because the shop owners didn’t pay their licence fees. These shops were located in various parts of the city, including two in Sector 9 and one each in Sector 32-D, Sector 40, Sector 45, Manimajra, Daria, and Mauli Jagran.
The total annual licence fee for these eight shops was ₹67.64 crore. Out of ₹5.41 crore that was due, only ₹2.71 crore was paid, leaving ₹2.70 crore unpaid. To reopen the shops, owners will now need to clear their dues with 1.5% monthly interest, calculated daily.
This isn’t the first time action has been taken. Earlier, 48 out of 96 liquor shops for the 2025-26 period were also sealed because the owners failed to submit required bank guarantees worth ₹40 crore.
Adding to the controversy, the Chandigarh Wine Contractors Association accused a few individuals of unfairly grabbing most of the liquor licences. They claim these people used multiple firms and relatives to win the bids, suggesting cartelisation.
Meanwhile, the government tried to auction off 11 more liquor shops on Monday, but only one shop in Sector 22 was sold. It brought in ₹3.51 crore. The remaining 10 shops didn’t find any takers and will be re-auctioned soon.
