Excise Minister V. Srinivas Goud has said that the decision of the Cabinet on Thursday extending reservations to Goud community, SCs and STs in allotment of liquor shops is first of its kind decision which is set to become yet another trend setter in the country.
The decision has attracted the attention of several States across the country and officials and elected representatives from States like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra evinced interest in knowing about the finer details of the scheme. The decision follows the Chief Minister’s resolve to scrap the tree tax on toddy tappers which enabled opening up of several outlets across the GHMC limits and other places.
The Minister conducted a meeting of the representatives of these communities on Friday and thanked the Chief Minister for taking such a decision that would pave the way for empowerment of the communities dependent on it.
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The previous governments had failed to come to the rescue of these communities, toddy tappers in particular, in spite of repeated representations. But Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao had proved his commitment for the uplift of these sections through a series of initiatives right from the abolition of tree tax levied on these communities and issuing licences to them. The step is a way forward towards the effective implementation of Dalit Bandhu as the beneficiaries can also opt for liquor shops as their units under the scheme.