Liquor bar auctions evoke mixed response in AP

The bar licence registration and application fee has been increased in the new liquor policy to Rs 15 lakh, Rs 35 lakh and Rs 50 lakh. The highest amount is collected for bar licences in areas with a population of over five lakh

Visakhapatnam: Auction of IMFL bars across Andhra Pradesh has evoked mixed reaction with allegations on aspirants forming into cartels in some places even as the Opposition parties saying the so-called promise to impose phase-wise prohibition by the ruling YSR Congress Party has gone for a toss.

As the government unveils new liquor policy, the controversy over change in approach has further provided ammunition to the Opposition with Minister for Industries and Commerce Gudivada Amarnath reportedly stating during an interaction with the media recently that the YSRCP had not mentioned total prohibition in its manifesto.

Telugu Mahila State president Vangalapudi Anitha told Bizz Buzz that the YSRCP in its 'Navaratnalu' (nine gems promised at the time of election and declared as it as its manifesto) had promised to introduce phase-wise prohibition. "After coming to power, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has introduced J-brand of liquor and adopted an approach to increase revenue from liquor sales after accusing the erstwhile TDP Government of allowing belt shops (unlicensed liquor shops," she said.

The government also came under severe criticism from the bar owners for denying the auto renewal of licences and introducing provision for payment of non-refundable registration fee for those who wanted to take part in open auction for bar licences. The bar licence registration and application fee has been increased in the new liquor policy to Rs 15 lakh, Rs 35 lakh and Rs 50 lakh. The highest amount is collected for bar licences in areas with a population of over five lakh.

In the first phase of auctions, conducted on Saturday, the government received Rs 258 crore from 323 licences with no bids for 21 bars in Rayalaseema and north coastal Andhra districts. The highest bid was received for a licence in Kadapa district. In all, Rs 597 crore was received along with non-refundable licence fees. About Rs 1 crore or above was bid for 41 bars.

In the phase-II auctions conducted on Sunday in Vijayawada, Guntur and other parts of the State, the response was not as per the expectation of the Excise Department giving rise to suspicion that the aspirants formed a cartel. Earlier, the licence-holders had criticised the introduction of an auction system instead of renewal. Barring Markapuram and Darsi, nowhere bids were received for above Rs 1 crore with most of the bar licences bagged for little above the base price.

The revenue from liquor was Rs 9,000 crore in 2019-20, Rs 18,047 crore in 2020-21 and Rs 19,500 crore in 2021-22. The working hours for IMFL outlets were initially 11 am to 8 pm and were subsequently extended. However, the shops are still managed by the government with the recruitment of 3,500 supervisors and 8,000-odd salesmen.

The new liquor policy has led to widespread criticism by all the Opposition parties including TDP, CPI and CPI (M), BJP and Lok Satta. "The present policy seems to be to make people addicted to liquor so that the government can fund part of the debts it has borrowed from various agencies," alleged CPI State secretary K. Ramakrishna.

However, the government officials claim that after the change of guard, the belt shops have been shut down and the liquor price has been increased steeply to discourage poor people from consuming it.

The market borrowings by Andhra Pradesh during FY22 stand at Rs 3.89 lakh crore. The revenue of the State fell drastically during the pandemic due to lockdowns.