With the Supreme Court on Thursday observing that the State Governments should consider selling of liquor online or through home delivery during the lockdown period, the scope for the Odisha Government to open such facilities has brightened, feel experts.
Notably, liquor shops shut down all over Odisha after the nationwide lockdown was announced on March 24.
Though the Ministry of Home Affairs has allowed opening of liquor shops, the Odisha Government is yet to take a decision in this connection.
Odisha, which is facing severe revenue shortfall, is not opening the liquor shops while other State Governments opened them for generation of revenue.
Annually excise revenue is around Rs 4,600 crore and the State is losing heavily due to closure of shops.
Not only the State is losing huge revenue due to closure of liquor shops, illegal liquor sales are getting a boost, due to delay in opening liquor shops.