The Himachal Pradesh governments' policy to allot liquor vends through the auction-cum-tender method has paid off and revenue collection from auctions for the 2023-24 financial year is up by 40 per cent, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Monday.
The previous BJP government had been following the policy of renewal of liquor vends with a 10 per cent increase in licence fee every year and the revenue earned in the 2022-23 financial year was Rs 1,296 crore, which surged to Rs 1,815 crore for 2023-24, an increase of Rs 520 crore, he informed the Assembly.
In a suo moto statement in the House, the chief minister said the auction of liquor vends in all 12 districts was held on March 16, 17 and 18 and overall increase in revenue collection was 39.97 per cent. The highest bid of Rs 296.22 crore was received in Kangra district, followed by Rs 251.11 crore in Shimla and Rs 181.10 crore in Mandi, he said.
The maximum increase was registered in Kinnaur (66.05 per cent), followed by Baddi (59.66 per cent), Una (52.63 per cent) and Sirmaur (47.62 per cent). The chief minister said a revenue generation of Rs 2,357 crore was estimated in the new excise policy for the year 2023-24 but with a 40 per cent increase in auction-cum-tender of retail vends, the revenue is now expected to increase to Rs 2,800 crore. Moreover, milk cess of Rs 10 per bottle would fetch an additional revenue of Rs 100 crores, he added.
