VIJAYAWADA: Deputy Chief Minister (Excise) K Narayana Swamy on Thursday directed officials to continue the Parivartana programme to eradicate illicit distillation of liquor and take concrete measures to provide alternative livelihood to those indulged in bootlegging.
Holding a review meet with the officials of the Prohibition and Excise Department and AP State Beverages Corporation Limited (APSBCL), he enquired about implementation of ‘Madya Niyantrana’, the avowed policy of the government to reduce consumption of alcohol in the State with a view to improve the living standards of the people.
Looking into the cases of misappropriation in the APSBCL retail outlets, he instructed the officials to speed up recovery of swindled money from the errant staff by invoking the RR Act against them and working in tandem with the revenue authorities. District level committees should be set up to monitor the progress misappropriation cases, he said.
Speaking on the measures taken to control ganja cultivation, he instructed the officials to curb the drug menace with an iron hand. The department should focus on curbing cross border smuggling of ganja and drugs and flow of non-duty paid liquor into the State.
The Madya Vimochana Prachara Committee should intensify its campaign to check the consumption of alcohol in the State, he said. The minister wanted the officials of Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, West Godavari, Guntur, Nellore and Kadapa districts, which recorded low revenue for April-November compared to last year, to make efforts to realise set targets.
Special Chief Secretary (Excise, Registration and Stamps) Rajat Bhargava, Commissioner (Prohibition and Excise) Vivek Yadav, APSBCL Managing Director and Commissioner of Distilleries and Breweries D Vasudeva Reddy were present.