Cabinet panels exercise on new excise policy

HYDERABAD: Going for the lottery system in allotment of liquor shops and the state government running liquor shops on its own, as is currently happening in states like Tamil Nadu and Delhi, were among the options discussed by the Cabinet sub-committee which met here on Monday for the first time to study proposals for the new excise policy.The existing open auction of liquor licences also figured in the discussions which were based on various options submitted by the excise department.With the new excise policy due on July 1, the state government, which has faced a lot of heat on the illegal activities of liquor syndicates, seems inclined to go in for a total revamp of the existing system of issuing licences for retail outlets.Speaking to reporters after the meeting, prohibition and excise minister Mopidevi Venkataramana said the new excise policy would be ready for implementation by July. It would ensure transparency besides eliminating the loopholes in the existing policy. Teams of senior excise officials had visited Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Kerala and Karnataka and studied the policies there. The minister said the new policy would help erase the impression that the excise department worked only as a cash cow for the government.The panel would meet again on May 26 to finalise the policy. Ministers Anam Ramnarayana Reddy (finance), P Sabitha Indra Reddy (home), D Sridhar Babu (civil supplies) and C Ramachandraiah (endowments) participated in the deliberations.