Mohali liquor vends auctioned for ₹849 crore total

The Mohali excise department auctioned all 299 liquor vends in the district for ₹849.16 crore on Monday. This auction was held just two weeks before the new 2025-26 Excise Policy starts. The reserve price was ₹595 crore, so the earnings significantly exceeded this amount. The department also made ₹3.30 crore from non-refundable application fees. This fee of ₹5 lakh was charged to 66 applicants. Out of these, 12 applications were rejected for not meeting technical requirements. This year's auction raised much more money compared to last year. In 2024-25, the department earned ₹494.92 crore from the same number of vends. This represents an increase of ₹354.2 crore in revenue for the new fiscal year. Mohali district was divided into 13 groups for the auction. Mohali city had four groups, and areas like Kharar, Zirakpur, Kurali, New Chandigarh, Dera Bassi, and Lalru were divided into other groups. Among the top successful bidders, Tarsem Chand paid the highest amount. He won 16 vends in Zirakpur-2 for ₹77.33 crore and 25 vends in Kurali for ₹61.33 crore. The Star Wine Company acquired several vends, including 13 in Mohali-3 for ₹70.37 crore. Other notable bids included Chandigarh Liquor Company, which won 15 vends in Mohali-4 for ₹67.33 crore, and Aman Sharma, who acquired 52 vends in Lalru for ₹54.52 crore.