The retail liquor sellers ofJharkhandhave urged the Hemant Soren government to scrap its plan of taking over the liquor sales in the state.
The Jharkhand Khudra Sharaab Vikreta Sangh (JKSVS), the umbrella organisation of 1,400 retail liquor sellers in the state, has handed over a memorandum to chief secretarySukhdev Singh, citing that the government should learn from the bitter experiences of controlling retail sales between 2017 and 2019.
The state excise and prohibitions department roped in theChhattisgarhState Marketing Corporation Limited (CSMCL) earlier this month in a bid to boost the gross annual revenue through liquor sales. CSMCL has been tasked with preparing a roadmap for the states target of grossing Rs 2,300 crore in revenue in the upcoming financial year.
Jharkhand has grossed revenue of Rs 1,900 crore through liquor sales in the ongoing year while Kerala, with nearly the same Population as Jharkhand, has grossed nearly Rs 14,000 crore. Chhattisgarh has grossed Rs 5,000 crore in the ongoing year despite having a population of 2.5 crore, as per CSMCLs draft report.