Daltonganj excise office struggles to meet revenue target

Daltonganj: The excise office in Palamu district’s Daltonganj has collected Rs 148 crore in revenue for the current 2025-26 financial year till Feb-end against a govt target of Rs 184 crore. Officials said the target is not likely to be met.

There are 70 licensed liquor shops in Palamu district under the control of 28 licensees.


When asked about the average monthly collections, district excise superintendent Sujit Kumar said, “It’s around Rs 17 crore. It will be a miracle if we collect the remaining Rs 36 crore in the last month of the financial year, with two festivals and a couple of dry days in between.”

Sources said Holi is over, while the nine-day Ram Navami is scheduled to be held in the third and fourth week of March. Like Holi, state govt will impose dry days for at least two days during the period, affecting revenue from the sale and purchase of liquor.

Sources said that collections in July and Aug 2025 were “disturbed” following the transition of liquor shops from Jharkhand State Beverages Corporation Limited to private licensees through a transparent lottery system, which affected revenues to a great extent over issues like stock reconciliation, handover and takeover, and settlement of dues with suppliers, among others.

Officials said there is a manpower crunch in the excise office. “There is no excise constable or inspector. We have only two sub-inspectors,” Kumar said.

Asked if there were complaints about overpricing of liquor, the excise superintendent said, “There is such keen competition among the 28 licensees that a buyer usually gets a good discount. Overpricing is rarely heard but we keep an eye on the issue.”