The Punjab Cabinet on Saturday banned operation of all liquor vends within 500 metres from national and state highways under the excise policy approved today.
In the excise policy for the year 2017-18 approved today, the number of liquor vends have been brought down from 6,384 to around 5,900.
The first session of the 15th Vidhan Sabha of Punjab will begin from March 24.
Senior Congress leader Captain Amarinder Singh took oath as the Punjab Chief Minister on March 16.
The Congress secured 77 out of 117 seats in the state Assembly polls making a strong comeback after a decade.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won 20 seats on debut, making it the second largest party in the Punjab Assembly.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance fared the worst with 18 seats.