Hyderabad clubs on a new high'

Hyderabad: Liquor sales in some of the licensed city clubs and other parts of the state are zooming. Six city clubs out of 36 including the controversial Film Nagar Cultural Centre provided about Rs 1 crore each to the Excise   department through liquor sales alone.

Some clubs have requested the prohibition and Excise department to extend the service area in view of the growing clientele and congestion, but the P&E commissioner rejected it.

Jubilee Hills International tops the list with Rs 1.93 crore, followed by FNCC at Rs 1.55 crore. Hyderabad Boat Club is third with Rs 1.46 crore, followed by Secunderabad Club Rs 1.39 crore, Nizam Club Rs 1.33 crore  and Jubilee Officers Club Rs 1.04 crore, according to the P&E department from July 2015 to March 2016. ASCI Club has the least sales at Rs 0.01 crore. Data from April to June 2016 is being compiled.

“Supplies from  government depots indicate good sales. They are going up compared to  last year. We expect a 20 per cent increase in sales,” a senior official  said.

The total value of IML/beer sales from July 2015 to March 2016 in all the clubs put together was Rs 17.2 crore. In the July 2014 to June 2015 period, the sales was Rs 20.41 crore.

When contacted, P&E commissioner R.V. Chandravadan said a proposal was  under consideration to enhance licence fee for clubs. “The clubs secure the licence by citing no-profit-no-loss policy. But many are highly commercial and are collecting huge deposits or membership fees according to our information,” he said. The FNCC, in the news for the collapse of the under-construction portico which killed two persons, has requested an extension of the serving area but the P&E department rejected the  plea. The very construction of the club on a park area has come under scrutiny.