By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : The Kerala government in its efforts to see that no spurious liquor reaches toddy shops in the state has decided to reward officials with 10 percent of the value of the spirit they seize.
The 10 percent would include the value of the vehicle from which the spirit is seized.
Spurious spirit is ferried in vehicles and is sourced by toddy shop owners, who mix it with the toddy to give it an extra zing and also to increase the quantity of the toddy.
The state has 5,200 shops that sell toddy. In the current fiscal, 4,100 shops have been authorised via tenders.
The 115 toddy shops in Thiruvananthapuram district have had no takers at all.
Toddy is tapped by professional tappers from either coconut or palm trees, after which it is sold to toddy shops and to tipplers.
A 750 ml bottle of toddy costs about Rs.45.
Even though fresh toddy is a much sought after drink, regular tipplers prefer the extra kick from the spurious spirit mix.
“Hitherto excise officials used to get a mere Rs.300 to Rs.1,500 for every seizure. From now on, if a seizure is of Rs.1 million, which includes the value of the vehicle from which it was seized, these officials will get Rs.2.50 lakh. It would be disbursed as soon as the case is settled,” said state Excise Minister K. Babu in a statement issued here Monday evening.