New liquor shops to comeup in 8 bordering UP dists

times news network
Lucknow: New liquor shops are going to be established in eight districts that share their borders with neighbouring states. In a review carried out last week, it was found that residents of UP are purchasing their stock from the neighbouring states due to the unavailability of liquor shops in their locality. After identifying such locations, the department decided to set up 48 new shops in Aligarh, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Moradabad, Rampur, Bareilly, Mathura, and Saharanpur.
Majority of the upcoming shops will be situated in remote locations, on the outskirts of the cities. Entrepreneurs interested in the liquor business will have the opportunity to run 17 beer shops, 15 country liquor shops, and 15 IMFL shops, in addition to one model shop. The state will have close to 29,200 retail liquor vends in total.
Meanwhile, during the first half of this financial year, the department has been able to generate higher revenue for the state compared to the corresponding period last year. Having collected Rs 22,563 crore through excise duty between April 1 and Sep 30 of the present year, the department was able to rake in Rs 2,337 crore more compared to its collection during the first half of the 2023-24 fiscal year.
Excise minister Nitin Agarwal attributed the increased revenue to the strong enforcement drives and strict vigilance being maintained by the officials deputed in the field. "Our collection could have been higher than this," said a senior officer, adding that due to flooding in low-lying areas and in towns situated next to the rivers, sales were down in Sep.
As a result, instead of the expected Rs 4,100 crore, the revenue of the department dropped to Rs 3,246 crore last month. However, with the festival season and winter approaching, the department is hopeful of generating increased revenues beyond the stipulated target in the coming months.