Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Monday directed excise and prohibition department officials to hold a public debate on the proposed new excise policy set to be implemented from July 1.
“You can seek views from people. Understand their concerns. And, based on the public debates, we can finalise the best practices,” the Chief Minister told the officials during a review on the new policy.
The revenue from liquor in the State for 2014-15 financial year was Rs11,488 crore and the projected revenue for 2015-16 is Rs12,258 crore.
In a bid to keep an eye on the inventory and prevent adulteration and other discrepancies, the Chief Minister suggested officials to adopt the “hologram” or Bar Coding system. “This will enable us to track the stocks. From manufacturing facility to retail shops and consumers, we can track the location of a liquor bottle,” he added.
Mr. Naidu also suggested setting up of cameras in retail stores to monitor spurious liquor sale, illicit liquor and mixing of liquor brands by retailers. Officials informed the Chief Minister that East Godavari, Krishna, Chittoor and Ananthapur districts have high sale of illicit liquor.
He also sought real-time recording of data. “Once certain stock is sold for the day, the shopkeeper has to scan the remaining stock and update it online”, he said and added that it would enable in improving the supply-chain management.
Observing that the aim of the government was to bring down the consumption of liquor in the State, the Chief Minister asked officials to educate people and create awareness on the ill-effects of consumption of illicit liquor.
To stop people from making illicit liquor, the Chief Minister asked the department officials to come up with ways to provide them alternative employment. “A better Rescue and Rehabilitation package for those involved in this business will better their lives,” the officials suggested.
He asked officials to also explore alternative to extracting Neera (palm nectar – extraction done before sunrise) and engage them in selling it. “This could bring down the reliance on toddy and keep people healthy,” the Chief Minister said.
During the meeting, officials informed the Chief Minister that Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka have better excise policies. “Karnataka has the best policy that covers manufacturing to end-user management,” officials told the Chief Minister.
The Chief Minister asked officials to work out ways to increase revenue from this sector. “Study the per capital consumption of liquor and beer in order to plug leakages and streamline supply and sale,” he added.
According to Enforcement officials, cannabis supply too was high from East Godavari to Vizianagaram. “There are gangs that have specially designed vehicles to transport 400-500 kg of cannabis consignment,” the Chief Minister was informed.
