Date:22/02/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/02/22/stories/2004022202870700.htm

National

M.P. to end monopoly in allotment of foreign liquor shops

By Our Staff Correspondent

BHOPAL, FEB. 21. The Madhya Pradesh Government has decided to allot foreign liquor shops across the State from the next financial year on payment of the prescribed licence fee after inviting applications on the basis of ``minimum quantity,'' in order to end the monopoly that was encouraged by the contract auction system in vogue since 1996. In the case of more than one application the allotment would be made through lottery.

The Madhya Pradesh Minister for Commercial Tax, Kailash Chawla, said this today while briefing presspersons about the new excise arrangement being introduced in the State.

Mr. Chawla said that to improve the excise system and revenue collection, the State Government had sent a team to Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Punjab. On the basis of the inputs, different alternatives were presented before the Cabinet sub-committee on Excise, which had subsequently recommended that the monopoly system be abolished.

The new system being introduced in the State had been introduced in Uttar Pradesh in 2001-02. Uttar Pradesh had recorded about 6 percent loss in revenue in the year 2001-02 (the initial year) but next year that State registered a record 30 percent increase in revenue.

Even in Chhattisgarh, the problem of monopoly had surfaced due to the auction adjustment system in the year 2002-03.

Under the new arrangement being introduced from April 1 this year, a committee headed by the district collector would allot the shops. The notification for allotment of liquor shops is likely to be issued in the first week of March and for actual lottery in the second week of April, the Minister informed the journalists. The applications for liquor shops would be sold at the offices of the district collector/district excise officer/sub divisional magistrate and the State Bank of India and State Bank of Indore branches dealing with government transactions at district headquarters.

The price of each application form for shops in rural areas and nagar panchayat areas would be Rs. 1000, Rs. 2000 for shops in municipal areas barring the Rajbhogi towns and Rs. 3000 for shops in municipal corporation areas of Indore, Jabalpur, Bhopal and Gwalior. A person would be allowed to submit only one application for one shop. However, each person would also be entitled to give separate applications for more than one shop.

Details like consumption, minimum fixed quantity, and license fee would be provided with the application forms. The shops remaining unallotted after the first round of lottery would be allotted through a second and, if necessary, even a third round.

Mr. Chawla told journalists that there were about 2207 country liquor shops, 463 sub-shops and 581 foreign liquor shops in the State. Revenue of Rs. 864.46 crores was received from auction of these shops in the year 2003-04. Revenue of Rs. 968 crores was estimated in the first year of the new arrangement, he said adding that the revenue would definitely increase in the next financial year as he has ``full faith in the liquor consumers''.

Mr. Chawla said that the enforcement system would have to be further strengthened. The sanction, he said, is being given for filling up about 300 vacancies of excise sub-inspectors and constables as well as providing new arms and ammunition to them and permitting them to hire additional vehicles. Besides Home-Guards, Police and Forest department personnel, even ex-armymen would be eligible for appointment on compassionate grounds as excise sub-inspectors. While this would entail a maximum expenditure of Rs. 6 crores in a year, it would not only lead to increase in revenue but also help curb excise related offences.