U’khand cabinet gives go-ahead for new excise policy

Dehradun: The state cabinet on Friday night finally gave a nod to the proposal of a new excise policy termed as Foreign Liquor- 2, primarily aimed at enhancing the revenue for this financial year. The meeting that was attended by all 12 cabinet members, apart from other top government functionaries, was chaired by CM Harish Rawat.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, chief secretary N Ravi Shankar said that the new policy would come into force after April this year.“In principle, the cabinet has agreed to give stocks of foreign liquor to state government-run bodies like Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam(GMVN) and Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam(KMVN). These agencies will be entrusted the responsibility of running the liquor business,” he said.
The state cabinet also fixed a target of achieving a 20% higher revenue collection this year as compared to the previous year. According to Shankar, the cabinet also decided to constitute a three-member sub-committee headed by CM Rawat with immediate effect, in order to study the new policy before making it final.
Meanwhile, the BJP state leadership has welcomed the move to handover the stocks of liquor to state-owned bodies. The new excise policy had been gathering dust ever since BJP, the main opposition party, had strongly protested to it on the grounds that it would encourage major private players from outside the state and edge out the local ones. However, this worry was laid to rest after the cabinet decision to bring in GMVN and KMVN. “The state government has taken a good decision, but this should be a permanent measure, not a temporary one,” said leader of opposition, Ajay Bhatt.