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Cheap liquor knocked out
In a significant development, Telangana government has decided to drop the proposal to introduce cheap liquor in the State and continue with the existing policy presently. Addressing the media after a nearly four hour long Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said the decision to introduce cheap liquor has been put off with a view to mixed opinions that had come from different quarters.
Hyderabad: In a significant development, Telangana government has decided to drop the proposal to introduce cheap liquor in the State and continue with the existing policy presently.
Addressing the media after a nearly four hour long Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said the decision to introduce cheap liquor has been put off with a view to mixed opinions that had come from different quarters.
He said that government would crack the whip against sale of ID liquor (gudumba). Separate task force headed by an Inspector General of Police along with flying squads would be entrusted the job of ending the menace. Government will not hesitate to invoke the PD Act against all those who violate the rules.
The Chief Minister said that the permissions for the licensed liquor outlets would be given through draw of lots as practised in the existing excise policy. This decision of the government has been welcomed by all opposition parties. They said their agitation had opened the eyes of the government and it now has shelved its decision.
Congress official spokesperson Dasoju Sravan said that it was people’s victory. TTDP president L Ramana said that this was just the beginning and the opposition would launch many more agitations to force the government to take back anti people measures. The BJP floor leader K Laxman also welcomed the decision.
Earlier, Opposition parties and non-governmental organisations constituted a steering committee headed by Prof P L Vishweshwar Rao to oppose the cheap liquor policy which was to be rolled out in Telangana from October. The Congress leaders like PCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy and former minister D K Aruna had been alleging that the introduction of cheap liquor would harm public health.
The BJP had said that the government which had failed to take steps to provide drinking water to every home wants to supply cheap liquor. The BJP floor leader K Laxman and TDP leaders E Dayakar Rao felt that this was a move to fill the coffers of the government.
They even threatened to launch an Anti Cheap Liquor Movement from KCR’s Gajwel constituency.Even the Telangana Gouds’ Sangam had opposed the government’s decision to introduce cheap liquor.But Minister for Excise T Padma Rao felt that the Opposition was unnecessarily making a hue and cry over the new excise policy.
The government decided to sell 90 ml liquor for Rs 15 and 180 ml liquor bottle for Rs 30. We decided to reduce the excise duty, VAT and sales tax on certain varieties of IMFL liquor available to consumers and wean them away from gudumba, which is claiming many lives,’’ Padma Rao explained.
