The State government will explore the possibility of introducing a cess on sales through the Kerala State Beverages Corporation for raising funds for anti-narcotic activities of the Excise Department, Excise Minister K. Babu has said.
He was addressing a passing-out ceremony of 92 civil excise officers and 28 drivers at the Kerala Excise Academy here on Saturday.
The budgetary allocation for anti-narcotic activities was not enough, he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mr. Babu said that anti-narcotic clubs would be started in educational institutions this academic year.
All excise check-posts would be under the surveillance of closed-circuit television (CCTV). Additional mobile testing labs would be started. Steps had been taken to make the pay scale for drivers in the Excise Department on a par with that of their counterparts in the Kerala Police.
Measures were being taken to ensure 10 per cent women’s representation in the Excise Department. Recruitment of women employees was nearly over. Training for them would begin soon, he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
He lauded the efforts of the Janamaitri Excise Station at Attappady to curb the menace of illicit liquor.
He said that liquor consumption in the State came down in 2013-14. Per capita consumption of liquor and sale were lesser in Kerala than those in other south Indian States. The number of bars in Kerala was fewer, he added. Mayor Rajan Pallan was present.