A day after Punjab Government released its new excise policy for 2019-20, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday questioned the increase in liquor quota by 16 percent while not reducing the number of vends in the State.
“The State Government’s intent and any effort to check the liquor mafia active in the state coupled with addition, is absent from the policy,” said AAP’s senior leader and the Leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha Harpal Singh Cheema.
Cheema said that in the new excise policy, the target of Rs 6,201 crore has been fixed against the possible collection of Rs 5462 crore in the current year.
“To complete an additional target of Rs 739 crore, the government has left no stone unturned to increase the liquor and beer quota from 10 to 16 percent, while also giving clear indications of increasing the liquor prices,” he said.
“It means the government is increasing the consumption, while fixing the revenue generation target at Rs 739 crores only, regarding which we would get to know only in the next fiscal,” he added.
Making it clear that AAP has more objection to an increase in alcohol and beer quota than liquor prices, Cheema said that by increasing beer quota by 16 percent from 2.53 million bulk litres to three million bulk litres and domestic liquor quota of 5.78 crore proof litres by 10 percent to 6.36 crore bulk litres, “the Government has proved that its intention is not of reducing or checking its use, but boosting it”.
He maintained that the latest national survey, pointing that Punjab is leading amongst the states in India with children above 18 years of age indulging in drinking alcohol, did not have an effect on the State Government.
Mincing no words, Cheema alleged that the liquor mafia is functioning with a free hand in Punjab with the connivance of politicians and officers since long with the state treasury suffering a minimum loss of Rs 3000 crore every year.
“That is not all! Punjabis are getting substandard liquor from other states and liquor factories through smuggling, but the Congress government has continued with the same practice that was adopted by the previous Badal government,” he said.
Cheema dubbed the State Government’s move to set up a battalion to check smuggling as throwing dust in people’s eyes.