The State Excise Department has allotted 437 shops out of total 503 liquor shops in State in the first phase and the revenue receipts of the department are on target, said Finance, Excise and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Prakash Pant while addressing newsmen here on Monday.
He said that the former Chief Minister Harish Rawat and his Ministers have no moral right to question the excise policy as both consumption and revenue receipts of liquor decreased in the State under the regime of Congress. Releasing data of three years when the State was ruled by Congress, the Minister informed that in the year 2016-17 the revenue target was Rs 2100 Crores but the department achieved only Rs 1905 Crores similarly in the years 2015-16 and 2014-15 the revenue target were not achieved.
He attributed it to change in Fl-2 licensing policy ostensibly to help select liquor manufacturers. Pant said that in addition to flawed policy recognised brands of liquor was not available in the State which resulted in smuggling of liquor into the State. Congress stalwart and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram had to oppose the liquor policy of Uttarakhand when it was ruled by Congress in High Court, he said.
Pant claimed that the objective of his Government is to prevent people from the ill effects of liquor and earn maximum revenue and for it the numbers of liquor shops in the State have been reduced to 503 from 526, in addition to it the Government has also reduced the sale time of liquor in mountainous areas.
On revenue receipts this year, the minister said that the department has collected Rs 1086 Crores from allotment of shops in first phase. He said that total revenue target of Rs 2310 Crore would be achieved. Defending imposition of two percent cess on liquor, Pant said that the money thus collected would be spent on measures like increasing compensation for victims of road accidents, women empowerment and social security.