The stage is being set for the destruction of a major chunk of liquor seized during elections in the State.
The enforcement personnel deployed by the election authority seized a huge quantum of 3.31 lakh litres of liquor in the run up to the recently-concluded Lok Sabha (LS) elections.
Estimated cost
The estimated cost of the liquor is pegged at ₹5.17 crore with Excise officials seizing the contraband worth ₹3.9 crore (2.93 lakh litres), while seizures by the police contributed the balance ₹1.26 crore (37,851 litres).
Senior officials of the Excise Department said there are a set procedures for initiating the process, and cheap/illicitly distilled (ID) liquor would be destroyed at any cost.
“A major chunk of the liquor seized during the elections is of this category,” a senior official told The Hindu .
Likewise, liquor, whose sources of manufacturing is not clear, would also be destroyed as there are concerns relating to their quality. The officials, however, would give consideration to the duty-paid liquor, which has been kept in “wrong places”, and dispose of the case after imposing fines if things are found in order. “But a final decision on whether to auction the seized duty-paid liquor will be taken only after their chemical examination to ensure that it is not spurious,” the official said.
Foreign liquor quality
The same is the case with foreign liquor, the quality of which would be analysed before taking a call on the mode of disposing it.
“Disposing of the duty-paid liquor could vary from district to district depending on the quantum seized.” The officials would then take a call on the vehicles that were seized for transporting liquor, as there is a legal procedure prescribed for them too.
