Odisha Govt Bans New Liquor Shops in Policy Overhaul

Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s new BJP government headed by chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi has honoured the public demand to contain the spread of liquor sale in the state. On Thursday, it announced that no more new liquor shops will be allowed to open.

Speaking to the media persons here, state excise minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said, “We have decided that no new liquor shop will be opened in the state. Besides, efforts are on to reform the existing excise policy.”

“Illegal sale of liquor in our state poses a major challenge for us. In order to restrict it, we have made some changes to the excise policy. However, this is an interim excise policy which will last for seven to eight months,” Harichandan added.

As we try to make the excise policy spontaneous, many changes can be expected in the coming year, he informed.

In fact, after the BJP came to power in the state defeating the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) that ruled Odisha for over 24 years, people demanded complete prohibition.

According to experts, the Naveen Patnaik government’s over-reliance on excise revenue had led to an unbridled proliferation of liquor sale in the state.

The 2000-2001 fiscal, the very first year of Naveen’s rule, — saw the state earning an excise revenue of Rs 135.35 crore. In 2023-24, the state collected Rs 6,186.36 crore excise and Rs 2,585 crore VAT on liquor, making the total excise revenue for the year Rs 8,767.36 crore.

The BJD government had set a target to achieve excise revenue of Rs 10,000 crore for the year 2023-24 in view of the sector’s substantial growth during the last two years. The growth in the excise sector has been enormous in 2022-23 with 15 per cent more collection than last year.

The government had set a target of Rs 6,495 crore from excise revenue in the 2022-23 budget which was revised to Rs 6,882 crore later. The collection at the end of the financial year has been 27 per cent more than the revised estimate. Around 10 to 15 per cent growth in excise revenue has almost become the norm in Odisha for the last couple of years.