VIJAYAWADA: Deputy Chief Minister (excise and commercial taxes) K Narayana Swamy held a meeting with Excise officials from Krishna and West Godavari district to take stock of the department’s preparedness and wherewithal to effectively implement prohibition in a phased manner. The department has decided to restrict the number of wine shops to around 3,500 as against the last year’s 4,380.
Officials said that the minister reviewed if the department needed additional manpower as the State government was determined to roll out prohibition. “As the government has taken a decision to cut down 20 per cent of wine shops every year, the new excise policy will permit only around 3,500 wine shops. So, the minister held a brainstorming session on how to proceed with the plan and sought inputs from the officials,” a source explained.
The minister will also meet officials from other districts to chalk out strategies in the coming weeks.
The new excise policy is set to come into force from October 1. Even though the licence lapsed by June 30, the excise department had given a three-month extension to the wine shops as the policy is still under preparation.
For the record, the State government has recently passed AP (Regulation of Trade in Indian Made Foreign Liquor, Foreign Liquor) Amendment Bill, giving monopoly of retail trade to AP State Beverages Corporation Ltd (APBCL) or any other corporation wholly-owned and controlled by it.