The NHRC camp court being held in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 10: The state government has backed out of its earlier decision to allow liquor shops to do business till midnight following public protests.

However, it has allowed hotels, restaurants and bars in the five major cities of the state to sell liquor till midnight. The cities include Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Berhampur and Rourkela.

Excise commissioner Prashant Senapati said: “We have amended our earlier decision and communicated it to one of the members of the Board of Revenue.” Senapati said the board member would decide on the date from which it would allow hotels, restaurants and bars in the five major cities to sell liquor till midnight.

Earlier, the state government had decided that all India Made Foreign Liquor shops would remain open from noon to midnight in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Berhampur and Rourkela.

The decision was taken to boost the excise revenue. Last year, the state had collected Rs 1,780 crore from the sale of liquor, and this year, it is expecting to collect of Rs 2,150 crore.

“If liquor shops in hotels and bars are not open till midnight, it affects night life in those big cities. They will not be able to grow,” said Dillp Nanda, chairman of the Travel Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha.

However, Pramila Swain, convenor of the Mada Mukti Abhiyan, an organisation spearheading an agitation against the decision, said the state government should scrap the decision.

In yet another development, the National Human Rights Commission today directed the state government to shift liquor shops located within 500-metre radius of religious structures, educational institutes, hospitals and petrol pumps by 2015.

The direction came on the first day of the two-day camp court of the rights body in the city while hearing a petition filed by Akhand, a human rights activist. “There are more than 430 liquor shops located within 500-metre radius of such establishments. The commission has directed the excise department to remove the shops,” said Akhand.

He also said the commission had directed the state government to strictly follow the law that states not to serve liquor to minors. State excise secretary S.P. Thakhur assured the commission that the department would abide by the decision of the commission on shifting of liquor shops when it went for e-auction of the shops in January 2015.

Sources said S.C. Sinha, who is a member of the commission, completed hearing of 26 cases and would likely to conduct hearing of another 27 cases tomorrow. The commission is scheduled to hold an interaction with members of civil society and human rights activists on Wednesday. On the same day, the commission would also interact with top government officials.