Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The recent ban on liquor vends in 17 urban and local bodies of the state will lead to an approximate loss of Rs 394 crore annually to the excise department. However, it will be able to make up for the loss by hiking the auction rate of liquor shops from 15% to 20%.

A senior officer of the department said to the Free Press that following the government decision to ban liquor shops in the religious cities, as many as 47 such vends will be closed from April 1. 

Against the above Rs 340 crore loss, the hike in auction rates would bring in Rs 750 crore to the department, thus compensating for the loss, said the officer.  This year, the department’s revenue collection target is of Rs 15,700 crore. 

Areas to see ban

As per the cabinet decision, 47 liquor shops will be closed from April 1 in 17 bodies of urban and rural areas. The urban bodies include Ujjain Municipal Corporation, Omkareshwar Nagar Panchayat, Orchha Nagar Panchayat, Maihar Nagar Palika, Chitrakoot Nagar Panchayat, Datia Nagar Palika, Panna Nagar Palika, Mandla Nagar Palika, Multai Nagar Palika, Mandsaur Nagar Palika and Amarkantak Nagar Palika. Among rural areas, liquor shops will be shut in Salkanpur, Barmankala, Linga, Barmanghat, Kundalpur and Bandakpur gram panchayats.

Policy in limbo The excise policy has been in limbo even as eyebrows were raised at its provision of opening a separate category of shops to sell only beer, wine and Ready To Drink beverages.

This issue snowballed into a controversy after a senior bureaucrat expressed reservation that this category will generate a web of new shops across the state. Moreover, a final decision is yet to be taken on redistribution of rates of the shops closed on other vends. A decision is likely in a couple of days.