Tipplers taken for a ride as Excise Dept staggers

Hyderabad: Thanks to the united Andhra struggle, tipplers are being fleeced again by the licensed liquor outlets in violation of the MRP Act.

It all started with the launch of agitation by the Seemandhra employees against the bifurcation of State. As the staff of the Excise Department, particularly those in the enforcement wing, joined the agitation, the liquor outlets have taken advantage of the situation and raised the rates exorbitantly. Despite protests by the tipplers, the Department could do little to curb the unscrupulous practice due to dearth of staff. And the situation continues to this day.

Some officials said on condition of anonymity that the control over liquor sales had gone out of hands in the last four months. The number of cases registered with regard to violation of MRP rose three times when compared to those in the first four months of the year. There is no check on the liquor outlets which are fleecing consumers, particularly in Coastal Andhra and parts of Rayalaseema, a senior official said.

He said that over 50 per cent of the staff of the Enforcement wing stayed away from their duties during the intensified phase of the agitation.

Though, there were a flood of complaints from consumers over the excess rates, the Department could not attend to them as it was grappling with the staff crunch.

The other important factor that worries the department more is decline in liquor sales and increase of ID (Illicitly Distilled) liquor sales. Though the government did not put any revenue target, the Excise Department could generate only Rs 4,000 crore (Rs 1,000 crore less when compared to last year) in the Seemandhra region. Liquor sales also fell as bootleggers resumed ID liquor sales in Guntur, Srikakulam, Krishna, and Anantapur districts, where the ID menace was high in the previous years. The government was said to have incurred about 10 per cent revenue loss in Seemandhra in the last four months as the staff of AP Breweries Corporation Limited (APBCL) boycotted duties.

The issue of long-pending promotions to the rank of Sub-Inspectors (SIs) in the department , strict implementation of awareness programme against liquor consumption through AP Madhya Nishedha Committee and grant of permission to set up new bars in municipalities were also affected during the agitation.

The delay in the appointment of a full-time Minister in the place of Mopidevi Venkataramana also keeps the department rudderless for the last one year. Secondary Education Minister K Parthasarathi, who has been appointed as the in-charge Minister, is reportedly not devoting considerable time to the affairs of the Excise Department.