Offset price of unsold liquor shops across MP lowered by 35% now

Bhopal:Bhopal: Desperate to auction more than 400 liquor shops across the state that remain unsold due to lack of bidding, the Madhya Pradesh excise department on Wednesday cut the base price, or offset price, of these outlets by an additional 5 percent. The shops for 2026-27 are now offered at 35 percent below the original base price set by the department.This move defies an earlier decision this week by the cabinet sub-committee on excise, which had resolved not to lower the base price beyond 30 percent below the original offset price. One committee member had even proposed forming a corporation to operate the shops, similar to the model in Chhattisgarh, should bidders remain unwilling to meet the department's rates.The state government had set an ambitious revenue target of more than 19,000 crore from liquor shop auctions, raising the base price by 20 percent compared to last year. Yet collections are already running 3,000 crore short of that goal.In a further bid to attract bidders, the excise department has decided to auction only one shop per bidder, abandoning the earlier practice of grouping outlets. Initially, shops were bundled — for instance, in Bhopal, groups of two, three or five shops were offered. But after poor response, single-shop auctions were introduced from the 10th round of bidding on March 31, and a new department circular now mandates single-shop auctions exclusively.Liquor shops are typically auctioned in three rounds toward the end of March, with new vendors taking over by April 1. This year, however, 15 rounds have already occurred, leaving more than 400 shops unauctioned, including nine in Bhopal. The 16th round, targeting Bhopal district shops at locations such as Habibganj crossing, Govindpura, Arera Colony, Anna Nagar, P&T Square, Prabhat Square, Berasia No. 1, Bilkhiriya and Semra, began Wednesday and will run until 3 p.m. Thursday.Bhopal has 87 liquor shops, all of which were successfully auctioned for 2025-26 at a total of 1,193 crore — 11 percent above target. The reserve price for Bhopal shops in 2026-27 was initially set at 1,432 crore, the minimum figure at which the excise department aimed to contract them out for the year.