BHUBANESWAR: The State Cabinet on Wednesday deferred e-auction of liquor shop licences for Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and Country Spirit (CS) till March, 2015.
The Cabinet meeting, presided over by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, decided that existing licence holders would be allowed to sell liquor till introduction of the e-auction process, official sources said.
The modified notification of the Government for e-auctioning of IMFL off-shops and CS shops was quashed by Orissa High Court in July last year. The State Government had moved the Supreme Court, which asked the it to make certain changes in the notification and to comply with certain queries by July 31.
Since the State Government needs more time to comply with the apex court order, the Cabinet decided to defer its decision of going for the e-auction process by another eight months.
The Cabinet decided to create six new posts in State-owned Odisha State Beverage Corporation which has been doing business worth of `3000 crore annually on outsourcing basis. The posts will be chief operating officer, general manager (accounts), systems manager, assistant manager, supply chain manager and accountant.
The Cabinet also approved the proposal to amend clause-16 of Orissa Civil Court Act, 1984 in order to enable district courts to take up cases involving money up to `10 lakh. Earlier, the district courts were empowered to take up cases up to `5 lakh only. Cases involving more than `10 lakh will be adjudicated in the High Court.
The Cabinet also gave its approval to reduce Forest Development Tax on kendu leaf from 16 per cent to two percent.