Owners of restaurant-cum-bars have urged the state government to stop indiscriminate issuance of bar licences.

The plea was conveyed to excise secretary K.S. Rajendrakumar last week by a delegation of the Hotel and Restaurants Association of Eastern India (HRAEI).

?The government may issue a bar licence to anyone anywhere and we are not disputing that. What we want is a restriction on the number of licences being issued,? said S.S. Kothari, HRAEI president. ?The excise department should fix the number of bar licences that can be issued in an area. Let it be on the basis of the population of a particular locality and the number of existing bars.??

According to figures released by the association, at least 100 bars have come up in the city in the past year and another 100 are awaiting licences.

?One fine morning, you may find that most shops in Esplanade, Park Street, Chowringhee, Park Circus, Sealdah and Salt Lake have turned into bars,? said FHRAI vice-president S.K. Khullar.

The spurt in the number of bars follows the adoption of a ?liberal policy in 2002?, that opened the floodgate of bar and off-shop licences. Issuing off-shop licences, however, has been stopped for the time being, following protests by political parties and intervention by court. But there is no curb on bar licences.

By the rule, anyone can get a licence if the proposed location of the bar is not within 1,000 feet of a place of worship or an educational institution.

As for the off-shop approval, the excise department fixes the number of licences to be issued in an area and also the locations. Applications are invited through advertisements in newspapers and the licences are issued through an open lottery.

Rules stipulate that a bar licence can only be issued to a restaurant that is operational and can seat at least 30 customers. The eatery must also have a food licence and police permission.

Bar-owners alleged that excise officials are issuing licences after verifying the papers, not after a physical verification of the restaurant.

?The government?t policy will disturb the social balance and also result in an unhealthy competition among bar-owners,? observed an owner in Salt Lake.

?Some owners are taking recourse to illegal means, such as organising nacha-gana, to retain their clientele. The entire bar-restaurant industry is earning a bad name because of a handful of owners.??

Apart from seeking a curb on licences, the association has asked for a regular vigil on restaurant-cum-bars.

Complaints have started pouring in that some bars are cheating customers by serving sub-standard food. Some owners also allegedly play adult films, that often lead to law- and-order problems.

?We have brought the matter to the notice of the excise department and police and sought their intervention,? said an association representative.

Excise secretary Rajendrakumar said the government had an open policy on issuing bar licences. ?We cannot deny anyone a licence if the papers are found to be in order. We are concerned over revenues. However, we will surely take action if any illegal activity is reported from any bar,? he added.