By Mohammed Siddique, TwoCircles.net,
Hyderabad : Breaking all expectations of officials and past records, Andhra Pradesh government has netted a whopping Rs 3500 crore revenue from the auction of 6800 liquor shops and another Rs 1265 crore as the license fee for 1500 bars. As the figures were still being tallied a day after the auctioning of shops was completed, the final figure is expected to be still bigger.
This will be over and above the expected revenue from the excise tax on the sale of liquor of Rs 10,000 crore. Thus, as the flood gates of liquor have been opened in the state, the YS Rajasekhara Reddy government is expected to get a total revenue of around Rs 15000 crore or about $ 4 billion during the current year.
Though Andhra Pradesh has the reputation of being the biggest consumer of liquor in India, never in the past, the state has earned such a huge revenue.
The auctioning of licenses has yielded huge revenue because the bidders jacked up the price three to four time over the last year. Several shops in Hyderabad were auctioned for more than Rs 2 crore while they were auctioned last year only for a few lakh rupees.
Interestingly shops located in the IT companies’ hub called Cyberabad commanded the highest price.
The licenses for liquor shops were auctioned amid strong protest by the opposition parties specially the Telugu Desam and the Lok Satta, a new party launched by a former IAS officer. They alleged that the policy of encouraging the consumption of liquor was destroying the economy of the people specially in the rural areas.
Telugu Desham Party Women’s Cell president Actor Roja participating in anti liquor protest
While there are only 6800 authorized liquor shops in the state, the opposition parties have alleged that there were about one lakh unauthorized smaller shops run in the villages, ruining the health and economy of the people.
“The government is looking other way to the illegal activities of the shop license holders who are opening sub-outlet in villages”, says EVVS Sarma, general secretary of Lok Satta. “Because it is earning a lot of money to the government. The liquor has destroyed the domestic peace and violence against women has gone up. 87 lakh families are ruined by it”, he said.
For Telugu Desam film star Roja is running anti liquor campaign and she is leading demonstration at shops. She even destroyed a couple of smaller liquor shops in village known as “belt shops”.
Telugu Desam film star Roja leading the mob
“The present Congress government does not care for the welfare of the people, specially women. It is out to encourage the people drink more”, Roja alleged. But there is a problem of credibility for the TDP because it was N Chandrababu Naidu’s government which lifted the prohibition in the state in 1997. The prohibition was introduced by the TDP founder N T Rama Rao when he returned to power in 1994.
Roja being arrested for picketing in front of Andhra Pradesh Excise Commissioner office demanding stop auction liquor shops in twin cities
Rejecting the criticism of the opposition on liquor policy, the Chief Minister Rajasekhara Reddy asked, “the opposition parties are behaving as if some thing new is happening. Has the liquor come for the first time? We are continuing the policy of Telugu Desam”, he said.