BHUBANESWAR: The State Government is all set to reintroduce auction policy for liquor shops in the State.
“A committee headed by the Chief Secretary has been set up to formulate a draft auction policy for liquor shops which will be implemented from the 2013-14 financial year,” Minister of State for Excise Sarada Prasad Nayak told the House.
Replying to the demand discussion of the Excise Department, Nayak said permission for opening new foreign liquor shops are given after public hearing. Henceforth the MLAs will be personally intimated and their opinion taken into consideration before granting permission for opening new foreign liquor shops in their respective constituencies.
After the formation of Orissa State Beverage Corporation and taking over the wholesale business of foreign liquor and country liquor in the State, excise revenue collection has improved significantly.
While excise revenue collection was ` 114 crore in 1999-00, the collection went up to ` 1,094 crore in 2010-11. The revenue target for the department has been set at ` 1,350 crore for the current year against which ` 1,026 crore has been collected by February-end.
The department has strengthened enforcement to check bootlegging. District collectors have been directed to set up multi-disciplinary squad consisting competent police officers and officers from the Excise and Forest Departments. The squads will conduct raids at places where country made liquor is prepared illicitly.