BENGALURU: Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said the state government has decided to provide 574 new liquor licences through e-auctions. The CM conducted review meeting with the excise department officials on Friday where he instructed officials to facilitate the payment of licence renewal fees in two installments to ease the financial burden on licence holders. He also asked them to study the functioning of excise departments in neighbouring states to improve efficiency and achieve the department’s revenue targets.
The CM also warned the excise department officials against any misconduct that could tarnish the government’s image, stating that stringent action would be taken against those found violating professional standards. He cautioned officials against assuming that the excise department staff could not be transferred to other departments. He said that the government was prepared to amend the law if necessary to enable such transfers.
The CM said the government will not tolerate anyone or any attempt that brings disrepute to it.
Reviewing the department’s performance, the CM said the implementation of the new AIB (Alcohol in Beverage) system had yielded encouraging results.