‘Opening of state-owned outlets a step in that direction’, K. Narayan Swami said
Deputy Chief Minister (Excise and Commercial Tax) K. Narayana Swamy reiterated that the government is committed to complete prohibition in a phased manner and the opening of state-owned shops was an important step in that direction.
He claimed that the number of liquor shops had come down to 2,934 from the previous 4,380 and around 43,000 belt shops and over 4,000 permit rooms were removed in an unprecedented move. He said that the number of liquor shops and bars has already been reduced by 33 per cent.
Addressing reporters on Wednesday, Sree Narayana Swamy said that the government has constituted a special enforcement bureau to crack down on illegal liquor business.
Since May 2020, SEB has registered 14,689 cases and arrested 2,00,786 people and seized 51,103 vehicles for transporting illicit liquor. A total of 7,12,557 liters of non-duty paid liquor and 95,238 liters of duty paid liquor as well as 2,49,162 kg of cannabis were seized from other states in the last two years, he said.
Sree Narayana Swamy demanded that former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu clarified his stand on whether he opposed the liquor ban, and pointed out that all the brands available in the market were approved by the previous government.
He said that in 2018-19, around 661 lakh boxes of liquor were sold, while the consumption in the current regime (in 2020-21) came down to 224 lakh boxes, a decrease of 63%.
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