Odisha govt’s intention to provide good quality liquor at fair price

Highlights

• Govt has no proposal for total prohibition in the state
• It has collected Rs 2,092.80 crore as excise revenue by this January.

Bhubaneswar: Maintaining that there was no proposal for total prohibition in the state, Excise Minister Damodar Rout on Wednesday said the intention of the Odisha government is to provide good quality liquor at fair price to those who drink.

He said there was no proposal for total prohibition in the state as it is not “a realistic step”.

“The state government has no proposal to implement total prohibition. It is not a realistic step to declare the entire state as a total prohibition area,” Rout told the state Assembly replying to a question of BJD MLA Debasish Nayak.

Rout, however, said that the state government is taking steps to regulate the use of liquor in the state.

While the state government has set a target of collecting Rs 3,300 crore as excise revenue in 2016-17, it has collected Rs 2,092.80 crore by this January.

The state has a total of 3,843 liquor shops.

He said the state government has decided to close down the liquor shops, which would not adhere to the directive of the Supreme Court to relocate to a distanace of 500 metres from highways by March 31.