RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, Feb.24: BJP state president and Rajya Sabha member Deepak Prakash suspects Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s respect for his father Shibu Soren’s word.
Prakash shared his feeling while giving his reaction on the way the state government is planning to sell liquor in the state.
“Shibu Soren, a Rajya Sabha member and supreme commander of the JMM who struggled for Jharkhand separate state, has never supported the sale of liquor taking it a big reason for exploitation and underdevelopment of tribals but ironically his son after becoming chief minister of the state forgot the same and is adamant to sell the liquor like nectar,” Prakash said.
Prakash said the way the plan is being chalked out to sell liquor is not in the interest of the state.
“How come a Chhatisgarh-based company will be beneficial for the state? Will it not deprive locals of jobs and expose the poor commitment of the state for the local people? Is it not going against the policy of the state government to promote locals,” Prakash questioned.
The reaction came after Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited (CSMCL), a consultant appointed by the Department of Excise and Prohibition, last year recently provided many suggestions to the Jharkhand government on the subject of revenue augmentation.
In this context, a presentation was made by CSMCL to the state government team under the chairmanship of Excise minister Jagarnath Mahto.
The consultant has suggested that in the Jharkhand Excise Act- 1915 and as amended Act- 2015 (Jharkhand Excise Act) in order to bring strict legal provisions regarding the manufacture, transportation, purchase, sale, consumption, etc. suggested several amendments.
In the context of Jharkhand Liquor Store and Wholesale Rules- 2021 (Wholesale Policy), this fact has been brought to notice that in the present system 75 godowns including distributor warehouse and wholesale godown are located in different districts of the state.
It is a challenging task to keep continuous monitoring of such a large number of godowns. From this point of view, it was advised to reduce it by rational review. It was also advised to operate these warehouses/godowns by JSBCL, so that there is no possibility of transportation of illegal liquor from these establishments.
In the Jharkhand Excise (Retail Policy) Rules-2018, on the lines of states like Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, it has been advised to operate shops by private agencies under the close control of the government.
In the context of Jharkhand Produce (Country Liquor Manufacture, Bottling and Storage) Rules-2018 (Country liquors Policy) it has been suggested to use glass bottles instead of PET/plastic bottles from the point of view of environmental protection. Along with this, in order to increase the consumption of country liquor, amendments should be made on the subject of strength, size and rates of liquor. With these amendments, illegal Jawa, Mahua, Chulai, etc. liquor manufacturing can also be controlled.
Certain suggestions were also made in the Bar Licensing Policy (Bar License) so that there is no possibility of loss of revenue by illegal use of liquor storage by the operators of the bar.
Many suggestions have also been received in the present Excise Duty Regime of Jharkhand State, which is mainly related to reducing the landing price at wholesale and retail shops. With these amendments, increase in revenue will also be ensured without any change in MRP rate of liquor and due to lower landing rate, illegal liquor manufacturing will automatically come down.
