AP Cabinet Approves New Liquor Policy, 10% Shops to Kallu Geethas

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet on Wednesday approved the new liquor policy and decided that the average liquor price should be Rs 99.

The Cabinet also decided to rename the Bhogapuram airport as Alluri Sitarama Raju Airport. The cabinet meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu.

Another decision was to entrust the construction of the Polavaram diaphragm wall to the old agency as per the Central Water Commission’s recommendations. The meeting was held at the First Block cabinet meeting hall of the state Secretariat at Velagapudi.

Information Minister Kolusu Parthasarathy explained the decisions to the media.

Another decision was to provide 33 per cent reservation to Backward Communities (BCs) in legislatures.

The Cabinet approved the status notes on the issue of Tenant Identity Cards and New Tenancy Act, “Issuance of Soil Health Cards” and “Farm Calling” programme in 2024-25 as part of the 100-day action plan.

The minister said that the new excise policy would be implemented from October 1, as was previously hinted at by the cabinet sub-committee.

The Cabinet approved the ratification orders proposed by the chief engineer of Polavaram to continue the new diaphragm wall works and to entrust the construction with the existing agency. This, he said, was part of the Good Earth Come Rockfill Dam (ECRF) Gap 2 works in the Polavaram National Project .

Another decision was to change the name of Rythu Bharosa Kendra to Rythu Seva Kendra.

The Cabinet meeting approved a proposal to make appropriate amendments to the IMFL, FL Trade Regulation Act - 1993.

As part of an effort to increase management and revenue efficiency, a private retail policy with a two-year time frame to encourage greater participation by retailers will be promoted, he explained.

In line with the government's commitment to social justice and economic empowerment, 10 per cent of the existing shops will be reserved for the Kallu Geetha (Gowda) caste. Under this, 340 shops out of the 3,736 shops in the state will be reserved for them.

For unreserved shops, the license fee will be 50 per cent of the proposed slab. Allotment of retail liquor shops is done on a lottery basis “to ensure transparency and impartiality.”

The chief minister directed the excise department to make available various types of high quality liquor at low prices.

On a proposal to set up the Andhra Pradesh Ex-Servicemen Corporation Ltd (APEXCO) with a corpus fund of Rs 3 crore, the chief minister announced an enhanced Rs 10 crore corpus fund, which would ensure self-sufficiency, assistance and rehabilitation of ex-servicemen, war-disabled soldiers, war widows, ex-servicemen’s widows and their dependents.

The Cabinet approved the initiation of the ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) programme and conducting health check-ups for children in Anganwadi centres and schools as part of the Rashtriya Bala Swasthya Programme (RBSK).

To strengthen the mechanism that deals with Chief Minister's Relief Fund cases, complaints, etc, the cabinet decided to create 58 temporary posts in various categories, in the CMO.

The cabinet approved the renaming of the under-construction Bhogapuram International Airport in Vizianagaram district as Alluri Sitaramaraju International Airport.

It also cleared a proposal to approve 203 industrial land allotments recommended under the allotment norms of APIIC (extent of each case, less than 50 acres) based on the recommendations of the state-level allotment committee (SLAC).

The cabinet approved the creation of a preliminary corpus of Rs 100 crore for the financial year 2024-25, providing the benefit received under the credit guarantee fund scheme to the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Another decision was to set up a second MSME Technology Centre (TC) cum testing facility at Amaravati, instead of the previously approved Kopparthi. A provision of 20 acres of land in the capital region, through CRDA, would be made for this purpose.

The cabinet approved the proposals to change the name of Vision Document Vikasit Andhra 2047 to Swarnandhra @ 2047. It approved the issuance of NOC for conversion of SRM University-Amaravati in the Distinct category under the Regulations-2023 to "Deemed University" category.